I've been a fan of the Fug Girls since 2004, my freshman year of high school. Their blog (gofugyourself.com) is one of the few that I read on a daily basis, and have done so for the past seven years. So, when I found out they were coming out with a book, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. The wait at the library took about two months, but I finally got it yesterday, and I was not disappointed.
Spoiled is the perfect summer read: light, fluffy, funny and smart--and did I mention it's another example of excellent YA lit? It's the story of sixteen-year-old Molly Dix, who, after her mother's death, leaves Indiana to go live in Hollywood with her long-lost movie star father Brick Berlin, and his daughter, Brooke, who is the same age. Unfortunately, Brick is largely absent and Brooke doesn't want any competition for his attention. So while Molly must get used to the luxurious lifestyle of LA's finest, she must also deal with a constant onslaught of attacks from her new sister, who's doing her best to send Molly back to Indiana. She also struggles to maintain her relationship with her long-time boyfriend while fighting feelings for the one normal boy at her new prep school.
The Fug Girls have mastered the art of funny, clever writing on their blog, and Spoiled is an extension of their awesome style. They're good at satirizing celeb culture without being too vicious, and maintain a good level between over-the-top fluff and sweet, real emotions. Molly is a perfect representation of the girl next door caught up in a fantasy land, and she's relatable and real, if a bit too naive. Morgan and Cox create a memorable cast of secondary players as well, including Brick, who has some laugh-out-loud moments, and Molly's crazy classmates, such as a girl named Arugula.
This is a truly entertaining book, although if you're looking for something meaty and deep, this isn't it. It's just pure fun in the form of a very, very quick read (I finished it in about five hours, but I'm a fast reader). It's the perfect summer book--and if you're not already a fan of the Fug Girls, you will be once you've finished it.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Review #12: The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell
The Fifth Woman is part of a Swedish mystery series by Henning Mankell. My mom recommended it as a good summer beach read, so I decided to give it a try. I love the Millenium series by Stieg Larsson, and was hoping that this book would give me some of that dark Scandinavian thriller I was looking for. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.
It starts out strong: an old man is found dead in a pit in the field behind his house, impaled on sharpened bamboo sticks. Detective Kurt Wallander takes the case, which turns out to be the first in a string of mysteriously brutal murders. Obviously, since this is a mystery, that's about all I can reveal of the plot without giving away too much.
I was really disappointed that the scary and intriguing beginning began to falter and ultimately fail towards the middle. The murderer is really obvious--telegraphed very early on, without any red herrings to divert the reader's attention. Also, the narrative really begins to lag halfway through, and by the last 50 pages I was so annoyed by the slow pace and stupidity of the detectives that I almost jumped ahead to the last page to find out if my suspicions (developed within the first 50 pages) were correct. (They were).
There was also a really strong undercurrent of sexism and homophobia that kept appearing throughout the story, which bothered me and distracted me from the story. For example, while examining a picture of three men, the detective states that one of them must be a homosexual because of the way he's leaning against a tree. Later, the same detective determines that a car witnessed speeding away by an onlooker couldn't have been driven by a woman, because women don't rev their engines. Okay...
So, I probably wouldn't recommend this book. The beginning is entertaining but the narrative doesn't keep up its momentum, which makes it difficult to finish. I'm going to look around for other (better) Swedish crime fiction, of which I understand there is a lot, to get my Larsson-style fix.
It starts out strong: an old man is found dead in a pit in the field behind his house, impaled on sharpened bamboo sticks. Detective Kurt Wallander takes the case, which turns out to be the first in a string of mysteriously brutal murders. Obviously, since this is a mystery, that's about all I can reveal of the plot without giving away too much.
I was really disappointed that the scary and intriguing beginning began to falter and ultimately fail towards the middle. The murderer is really obvious--telegraphed very early on, without any red herrings to divert the reader's attention. Also, the narrative really begins to lag halfway through, and by the last 50 pages I was so annoyed by the slow pace and stupidity of the detectives that I almost jumped ahead to the last page to find out if my suspicions (developed within the first 50 pages) were correct. (They were).
There was also a really strong undercurrent of sexism and homophobia that kept appearing throughout the story, which bothered me and distracted me from the story. For example, while examining a picture of three men, the detective states that one of them must be a homosexual because of the way he's leaning against a tree. Later, the same detective determines that a car witnessed speeding away by an onlooker couldn't have been driven by a woman, because women don't rev their engines. Okay...
So, I probably wouldn't recommend this book. The beginning is entertaining but the narrative doesn't keep up its momentum, which makes it difficult to finish. I'm going to look around for other (better) Swedish crime fiction, of which I understand there is a lot, to get my Larsson-style fix.
Reviews #10-11: Charmed Thirds and Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty
So I decided to review these together since they're part of the same series, and unlike most of the other books in the series, these two occur within the same very short time frame.
I read the first two Jessica Darling novels when I was in high school, before the third was published, and must have gotten discouraged by the long request period at the library for the third or simply forgotten about them by the time the next one came out. I came across the third and fourth books while browsing the library for beach reads, and, remembering how much I had enjoyed the first two, decided to give them a try.
And I am SO disappointed I didn't read them sooner! The series' main character and narrator, Jess Darling, is snarky and smart and funny--basically my ideal protagonist. Charmed Thirds picks up several months after book #2 ends (the first two were about her junior and senior years of high school) as she navigates her freshman year at Columbia. She is struggling to maintain her relationship with her boyfriend, Marcus, who goes to school in California, as well as her friendship with Hope, the best friend whose move to Tennessee sparked the series. This book moves really fast, and covers all four years of college, but it never feels rushed or confusing. I think this is mainly because the book's written in the style of a diary, interspersed with emails and letters between Jess and various friends. Fourth Comings starts immediately after Charmed Thirds ends, and this one spans only a week, during which Jess must choose whether or not to accept Marcus' marriage proposal. This book was much quieter and sweeter than the first three, as the whole thing is written to Marcus.
The plotlines of McCafferty's books aren't terribly innovative, but the world she has created is incredibly rich and three-dimensional. Her characters are so believable, and all of them are nuanced and multi-layered, which is hard to accomplish. The best thing about this series, though, is Jess herself. McCafferty has created a real person, someone that you begin to feel like you know, someone you want to be friends with. I found myself getting sad when I remembered that Jess wasn't real, because I came to love her so much. Jess is flawed and has as many (if not more) bad qualities as good, but this makes her just about the most realistic YA protagonist I've ever come across.
The Jess Darling series is honest and raw and sad while still being laugh-out-loud funny--McCafferty captures the beauty of growing up without delving into cliché or sentimentality. She also crosses the boundary between YA Fiction and "grown up" writing very well--I often found myself forgetting that this was supposed to be a YA book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
I read the first two Jessica Darling novels when I was in high school, before the third was published, and must have gotten discouraged by the long request period at the library for the third or simply forgotten about them by the time the next one came out. I came across the third and fourth books while browsing the library for beach reads, and, remembering how much I had enjoyed the first two, decided to give them a try.
And I am SO disappointed I didn't read them sooner! The series' main character and narrator, Jess Darling, is snarky and smart and funny--basically my ideal protagonist. Charmed Thirds picks up several months after book #2 ends (the first two were about her junior and senior years of high school) as she navigates her freshman year at Columbia. She is struggling to maintain her relationship with her boyfriend, Marcus, who goes to school in California, as well as her friendship with Hope, the best friend whose move to Tennessee sparked the series. This book moves really fast, and covers all four years of college, but it never feels rushed or confusing. I think this is mainly because the book's written in the style of a diary, interspersed with emails and letters between Jess and various friends. Fourth Comings starts immediately after Charmed Thirds ends, and this one spans only a week, during which Jess must choose whether or not to accept Marcus' marriage proposal. This book was much quieter and sweeter than the first three, as the whole thing is written to Marcus.
The plotlines of McCafferty's books aren't terribly innovative, but the world she has created is incredibly rich and three-dimensional. Her characters are so believable, and all of them are nuanced and multi-layered, which is hard to accomplish. The best thing about this series, though, is Jess herself. McCafferty has created a real person, someone that you begin to feel like you know, someone you want to be friends with. I found myself getting sad when I remembered that Jess wasn't real, because I came to love her so much. Jess is flawed and has as many (if not more) bad qualities as good, but this makes her just about the most realistic YA protagonist I've ever come across.
The Jess Darling series is honest and raw and sad while still being laugh-out-loud funny--McCafferty captures the beauty of growing up without delving into cliché or sentimentality. She also crosses the boundary between YA Fiction and "grown up" writing very well--I often found myself forgetting that this was supposed to be a YA book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Review #9: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Freedom is a book about contemporary America. That's the best way that I can sum it up. It follows the lives of Walter and Patty Berglund, a married Minnesotan couple, and, to a lesser extent, their son Jesse and their long-time family friend, Richard Katz. It's hard to describe the storyline without giving too much away. Basically, the books is divided into three sections: the present, the past and the future. Each one deals with Walter and Patty at a different stage in their lives, and intertwines their individual voices with those of Richard and Jesse.
In reality, the storylines themselves don't matter that much--I found most of them to be a bit predictable. Where Franzen truly excels is in his portrayal of the Berglunds themselves. Each and every character is magnificently flawed, and I don't think there's a truly likable person in the entire book. But that's the beauty of it--Franzen doesn't shy away from making his protagonists terrible people, people you simultaneously root for and revile. I hated every character, to the point where I had to put the book down because what was happening was making me feel sick, but I couldn't stop reading. Despite my dislike for the Berglunds, I was truly invested in their story.
For me, reading Freedom was an experience. It was overwhelming and consuming and I had to struggle to remove myself from the fictional world to take a deep breath of reality. It's a difficult read because it's so true to life--Franzen exposes corruption and dishonesty wherever he sees it, which is almost everywhere. However, he maintains a healthy balance between his cynicism and a sense of humor and an appreciation for beauty, which makes it all a bit more palatable.
One other issue I had with the novel is that I think Franzen took on a bit too much. I wish he had focused only on Walter and Patty, because the moments where he switches to Richard's or Jesse's perspective feel too infrequent for them to have much of an impact. He also dropped some storylines as a result, and so the inclusion of these characters' voices--as interesting as they were--were unsatisfactory.
Overall though, these are minor complaints. Even at his weak moments, Franzen is still better than 90% of working authors today. This book was definitely over-hyped as being "important," but it lives up the expectation. Franzen somehow knows exactly how to capture moments in American consciousness. He created it in The Corrections and he creates it again here--a snapshot of what it's like to be an American today.
In reality, the storylines themselves don't matter that much--I found most of them to be a bit predictable. Where Franzen truly excels is in his portrayal of the Berglunds themselves. Each and every character is magnificently flawed, and I don't think there's a truly likable person in the entire book. But that's the beauty of it--Franzen doesn't shy away from making his protagonists terrible people, people you simultaneously root for and revile. I hated every character, to the point where I had to put the book down because what was happening was making me feel sick, but I couldn't stop reading. Despite my dislike for the Berglunds, I was truly invested in their story.
For me, reading Freedom was an experience. It was overwhelming and consuming and I had to struggle to remove myself from the fictional world to take a deep breath of reality. It's a difficult read because it's so true to life--Franzen exposes corruption and dishonesty wherever he sees it, which is almost everywhere. However, he maintains a healthy balance between his cynicism and a sense of humor and an appreciation for beauty, which makes it all a bit more palatable.
One other issue I had with the novel is that I think Franzen took on a bit too much. I wish he had focused only on Walter and Patty, because the moments where he switches to Richard's or Jesse's perspective feel too infrequent for them to have much of an impact. He also dropped some storylines as a result, and so the inclusion of these characters' voices--as interesting as they were--were unsatisfactory.
Overall though, these are minor complaints. Even at his weak moments, Franzen is still better than 90% of working authors today. This book was definitely over-hyped as being "important," but it lives up the expectation. Franzen somehow knows exactly how to capture moments in American consciousness. He created it in The Corrections and he creates it again here--a snapshot of what it's like to be an American today.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Review #8: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
In this interesting work of nonfiction, Barbara Ehrenreich takes the reader into the invisible world of the lower class: the menial laborers who make life comfortable for the rest of us. In the late 90's, she decided to leave her middle-class life and live as the lower class do, subsisting solely on minimum wage and taking undesirable jobs. She takes a variety of positions in three cities, as a dietary aide at a nursing home, a Walmart salesperson, a waitress, and a maid. Throughout her experience, she uncovers some of the ugly truths of this life--the dark secrets that most of us never see or simply choose to ignore. This is an uncomfortable read, as she spares no criticism of the state of our society and the flaws of the middle and upper classes. She truly exposes the hypocrisy of our system and makes it clear that although we pride ourselves on being a free and equal country, there is an incredible disparity between the lower class and everyone else. She effectively undercuts many of the arguments of those who are anti-welfare: she makes us see that our society is incredibly flawed, in that even working a full-time job at minimum wage, it is near-impossible for a person to survive.
I really enjoyed this book--Ehrenreich has a very relatable voice and balances out the seriousness of her topic with a light-heartedness and humor. It was definitely a jolting read, though, as it made me feel guilty about my comfortably middle-class upbringing. We have a tendency to push our thoughts about the people who take care of us--our housekeepers, our waiters, our salespeople--and what they do out of our minds, but this book forces the reader to think about them as people, and demands our respect for the tremendously hard work that they do.
I really enjoyed this book--Ehrenreich has a very relatable voice and balances out the seriousness of her topic with a light-heartedness and humor. It was definitely a jolting read, though, as it made me feel guilty about my comfortably middle-class upbringing. We have a tendency to push our thoughts about the people who take care of us--our housekeepers, our waiters, our salespeople--and what they do out of our minds, but this book forces the reader to think about them as people, and demands our respect for the tremendously hard work that they do.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Review #7: The Blind Kingdom by Véronique Tadjo
Disclaimer: I read this in the original French, so I can't speak to the quality of the translation or any differences found within it.
The Blind Kingdom is a fairy tale of sorts--a short, beautifully poetic book about a far away land ruled by King Ato IV. He is the leader of the Blind, a group of unseeing people who, many years ago, conquered the indigenous people, now called the Others. Ato and his daughter, Akissi, along with their people, live in luxury, while the Others live in the slums across town. The story follows the love story between Akissi and Karim, the king's secretary, who is working undercover as a spy for the revolutionary movement of the Others.
The plot is fairly simple, but the beauty of Tadjo's writing elevates it beyond a traditional Romeo and Juliet type story. The story is written in a series of vignettes, all stylistically different--some are almost poems, others are more traditional narratives. Some sites actually classify this as a collection of stories or poems, but I found it to be a fairly cohesive story.
One of the more interesting elements of the story is that it is a clear allegory for the conflict in the Ivory Coast, both past and present. While Tadjo was clearly purposely drawing parallels with the situation in the early 90's, when the novel was written, it is eerie how much those same parallels align with the situation there both around the time of their coup d'état in the early aughts, as well as the current crisis. These connections might not be clear to anyone who hasn't been following the recent news from there, or who doesn't have any pre-existing knowledge of the Ivory Coast's political troubles, but it would definitely be worth it to do some brief research before reading this novel in order to fully appreciate what Tadjo's doing.
I really enjoyed this book--it's a pretty quick read, mostly due to Tadjo's lyrical language. Even though the plotline is very familiar, Tadjo presents it in a very fresh way. The backdrop of violence and cultural conflict make it much more interesting than a typical romance about star-crossed lovers. It's a purposefully simple story, whose main purpose is to convey Tadjo's message about the consequences of discrimination and divisions within a nation.
The Blind Kingdom is a fairy tale of sorts--a short, beautifully poetic book about a far away land ruled by King Ato IV. He is the leader of the Blind, a group of unseeing people who, many years ago, conquered the indigenous people, now called the Others. Ato and his daughter, Akissi, along with their people, live in luxury, while the Others live in the slums across town. The story follows the love story between Akissi and Karim, the king's secretary, who is working undercover as a spy for the revolutionary movement of the Others.
The plot is fairly simple, but the beauty of Tadjo's writing elevates it beyond a traditional Romeo and Juliet type story. The story is written in a series of vignettes, all stylistically different--some are almost poems, others are more traditional narratives. Some sites actually classify this as a collection of stories or poems, but I found it to be a fairly cohesive story.
One of the more interesting elements of the story is that it is a clear allegory for the conflict in the Ivory Coast, both past and present. While Tadjo was clearly purposely drawing parallels with the situation in the early 90's, when the novel was written, it is eerie how much those same parallels align with the situation there both around the time of their coup d'état in the early aughts, as well as the current crisis. These connections might not be clear to anyone who hasn't been following the recent news from there, or who doesn't have any pre-existing knowledge of the Ivory Coast's political troubles, but it would definitely be worth it to do some brief research before reading this novel in order to fully appreciate what Tadjo's doing.
I really enjoyed this book--it's a pretty quick read, mostly due to Tadjo's lyrical language. Even though the plotline is very familiar, Tadjo presents it in a very fresh way. The backdrop of violence and cultural conflict make it much more interesting than a typical romance about star-crossed lovers. It's a purposefully simple story, whose main purpose is to convey Tadjo's message about the consequences of discrimination and divisions within a nation.
Monday, April 4, 2011
It's been a while...
So this whole posting-and-school thing finally caught up to me, hence the lack of posts over the past two months (yikes, it felt way shorter than that...). Fortunately, I have been keeping up with my reading, so at least I'm on top of one part of CBRIII. Anyway, expect several posts over the next day or so...and I'll give my word that I will take time out of my busy schedule (basically, decrease my procrastination by 20 minutes) and force myself to write a review when I finish a book.
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