I. Loved. This. Book.
Seriously. This was easily in the top 5 books I've read this year.
Ava Bigtree's family owns Swamplandia, an alligator-themed amusement park in the heart of the Everglades. Her mother, a world-renowned alligator wrestler, has recently passed away of cancer, and so Ava, her father, Chief Bigtree, and her brother and sister, Kiwi and Osceola, must learn to fend for themselves. As their park loses customers and the Bigtrees slowly lose money, their family begins to fall apart. The Chief leaves, Kiwi runs away, Ossie disappears, and Ava, an aspiring gator wrestler herself, must find her sister and restore her family, and Swamplandia, to their former glory.
This is definitely an odd book--it's got some slightly post-modern and dystopian elements to it. The world the Bigtrees inhabit is easily identifiable as contemporary America, and yet Russell uses subtly satirical details to make it unfamiliar and bizarre. However, this just makes this novel all the more fresh and interesting.
This is unlike any other novel I've read. Russell has incredible ideas and is an insanely good writer, and she creates characters that I truly felt for and a world that feels tangible and real. Ava is a kick-ass heroine--smart, funny, and strong, while still maintaining some of her childhood innocence. She's one of the greatest female heroines I've ever encountered.
Although this book has plenty of funny moments, Russell doesn't shy away from poignancy and emotional depth. Ava is, despite her tough exterior, still a little girl, and Russell uses her to convey the intense pain of losing a parent and of one's childhood world changing and collapsing. I cried as much as I laughed, and to me, that's the sign of a great book.
Go out and buy it. You won't regret it.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Review #16: Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
I adore Meg Cabot. The Princess Diaries was my favorite series when I was younger, and I read every single YA book she wrote back in my early teens. I sort of forgot about her, until I was at the library and I noticed a whole bunch of her books in the Adult section of the library. Meg Cabot writes grown-up books?!?! And so I picked one at random and proceeded to read it all in a matter of hours.
Size 12 Is Not Fat is classic Cabot. She's practically trademarked the insecure, quirky, down-to-earth female narrator, and although Heather Wells (the narrator) sounds exactly like Mia Thermopolis, the star of the Princess Diaries, it doesn't get old. I could read Cabot's writing all day--it's easy, funny, and sweet.
This book tells the story of Heather, a Britney-esque former teen-pop sensation who quit show business after her boyfriend (the book's version of a Justin Timberlake) cheats on her. She now works as an RA in a dorm building at a huge university in New York City, trying to blend in. She also lives with her ex's brother, a sexy private detective on whom she has an enormous crush. On top of this, freshman girls are showing up dead in the dorm's elevator shaft. Heather sets out to find out who the culprit is.
Cabot is not a great mystery writer, but she doesn't really pretend to be. The murderer is obvious from really early on (I honestly think I figured it out less than 50 pages in) and so there's not a ton of suspense. But it's such an enjoyable read that it doesn't really matter. Heather is funny and smart and a great character--again, the kind of girl that would make a great best friend.
So this is another of those mindless, fluffy reads that simply makes you happy. Definitely recommended to fans of Cabot, or fans of good chick-lit in general.
Size 12 Is Not Fat is classic Cabot. She's practically trademarked the insecure, quirky, down-to-earth female narrator, and although Heather Wells (the narrator) sounds exactly like Mia Thermopolis, the star of the Princess Diaries, it doesn't get old. I could read Cabot's writing all day--it's easy, funny, and sweet.
This book tells the story of Heather, a Britney-esque former teen-pop sensation who quit show business after her boyfriend (the book's version of a Justin Timberlake) cheats on her. She now works as an RA in a dorm building at a huge university in New York City, trying to blend in. She also lives with her ex's brother, a sexy private detective on whom she has an enormous crush. On top of this, freshman girls are showing up dead in the dorm's elevator shaft. Heather sets out to find out who the culprit is.
Cabot is not a great mystery writer, but she doesn't really pretend to be. The murderer is obvious from really early on (I honestly think I figured it out less than 50 pages in) and so there's not a ton of suspense. But it's such an enjoyable read that it doesn't really matter. Heather is funny and smart and a great character--again, the kind of girl that would make a great best friend.
So this is another of those mindless, fluffy reads that simply makes you happy. Definitely recommended to fans of Cabot, or fans of good chick-lit in general.
Review #15: The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
I will fully admit that I am a huge history buff. I tend to get obsessed with certain periods of history and read as many books (mostly historical fiction, but some biography/non-fiction stuff as well) as I can find about them. One of these is the Salem Witch Trials. I've read dozens of books about the trials, both children's lit (I cannot recommend The Witch of Blackbird Pond more highly to young readers--and old, too!) and adult books (The Crucible is a favorite). So I was really excited to read The Heretic's Daughter.
Maybe it's just because I've read so many good books about the trials, but this book was a little disappointing. It tells the story of Sarah, a young girl growing up in 17th century Andover, Massachusetts. Rumors begin to fly about supposed supernatural activity occurring in Salem, the neighboring town, and Sarah's mother--a non-conforming, stubborn woman--is eventually accused of being a witch.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that it's about real people. Martha Currier, Sarah's mother, was actually one of Kent's ancestors, and so the book has a sense of purpose beyond simply recounting a well-known historical event.
The book does a wonderful job of portraying the trials through the eyes of a child, capturing the confusion and the terror and the paranoia of the experience. Sarah's innocence highlights the insanity of the actions of those around her, and works very well. Unfortunately, I never seemed to warm up to her, or any of the other characters. I'm not sure what it was, since the book is very well-written, but I felt like the characters were a bit flat and unoriginal.
For that reason, the book is a little forgettable. The writing is beautiful and the attention to detail the author clearly worked hard on is admirable, and so I would still recommend this book for die-hard Puritan history buffs. However, there are definitely better representations of the trials out there.
Maybe it's just because I've read so many good books about the trials, but this book was a little disappointing. It tells the story of Sarah, a young girl growing up in 17th century Andover, Massachusetts. Rumors begin to fly about supposed supernatural activity occurring in Salem, the neighboring town, and Sarah's mother--a non-conforming, stubborn woman--is eventually accused of being a witch.
One thing I really enjoyed about this book is that it's about real people. Martha Currier, Sarah's mother, was actually one of Kent's ancestors, and so the book has a sense of purpose beyond simply recounting a well-known historical event.
The book does a wonderful job of portraying the trials through the eyes of a child, capturing the confusion and the terror and the paranoia of the experience. Sarah's innocence highlights the insanity of the actions of those around her, and works very well. Unfortunately, I never seemed to warm up to her, or any of the other characters. I'm not sure what it was, since the book is very well-written, but I felt like the characters were a bit flat and unoriginal.
For that reason, the book is a little forgettable. The writing is beautiful and the attention to detail the author clearly worked hard on is admirable, and so I would still recommend this book for die-hard Puritan history buffs. However, there are definitely better representations of the trials out there.
Review #14: Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
I've been wanting to read this book for years, ever since my mother bought a copy way back when it came out and I would skim through it looking for the sexy parts. I later saw the movie, and enjoyed it, so when I was putting together my reading list for the summer, I threw this book on it.
And I wasn't disappointed. Bridget Jones is, as everyone knows, about the titular character, a thirty-something British woman with a weight problem, a cigarette addiction, and a crush on her dashing boss. The book is written, obviously, as her diary.
I won't say too much about the plot since a) everyone is already fairly familiar with it and b) the plot is subordinate to Bridget's character. The biggest draw of this book is her voice--she is hilarious, and I found myself laughing embarrassingly loudly pretty much throughout the entire thing. Bridget is a really relatable narrator and she's the kind of character I wish were real, so that we could be friends.
All in all, a great, funny, quick read. Perfect if you need something light and fluffy to relax with after a long day or on vacation.
And I wasn't disappointed. Bridget Jones is, as everyone knows, about the titular character, a thirty-something British woman with a weight problem, a cigarette addiction, and a crush on her dashing boss. The book is written, obviously, as her diary.
I won't say too much about the plot since a) everyone is already fairly familiar with it and b) the plot is subordinate to Bridget's character. The biggest draw of this book is her voice--she is hilarious, and I found myself laughing embarrassingly loudly pretty much throughout the entire thing. Bridget is a really relatable narrator and she's the kind of character I wish were real, so that we could be friends.
All in all, a great, funny, quick read. Perfect if you need something light and fluffy to relax with after a long day or on vacation.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Review #13: Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan
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.
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.
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.
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