Catch Up Post: Books Read November 2009
Nov-1-2009 By Keri
Real life caused me to get very far behind on my reviews last year. Here are the books I read in November 2009
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| Book #97 | 11/4/09 | The Ask and the Answer | Patrick Ness | Grade: A |
| So Freaking good. I’m not a fantasy-adventure type gal, but these books are so intense and captivating. Loved how what seemed very black and white in book one has become decidedly gray, even our favorite main characters. | ||||
| Book #98 | 11/6/09 | After | Amy Efaw | Grade: B+ |
| Gutwrenching and very intense. An interesting psychological view about what could cause a normal teen to do something so completely heinous. | ||||
| Book #99 | 11/7/09 | Nothing Like You | Lauren Strasnick | Grade: B+ |
| This one worked pretty well for me. Not a ton of story, but the characters made up for it. | ||||
| Book #100 | 11/10/09 | You Better Not Cry | Augusten Burrows | Grade: B- |
| What a great cover, but this collection didn’t work for me. One of two strong stories amid many that seemed to be included for their theme and not their quality. | ||||
| Book #101 | 11/10/09 | Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) | Lisa Yee | Grade: B |
| Didn’t wow me like the Millicent Min and Stanley books did, but this was a cute lower middle grade book. | ||||
| Book #102 | 11/12/09 | Hate List | Jennifer Brown | Grade: A |
| Loved this one. I’m a bit obsessed with school shooting books, but I thought this one took a unique perspective in having the narrator be the girlfriend of the shooter. The writing and emotions were very strong. | ||||
| Book #103 | 11/15/09 | Marcelo in the Real World | Francisco X. Stork | Grade: A |
| Marcelo has been attending the Paterson School since he was a child, learning strategies for coping with his Asperberger’s Sydrome. His father is convinced that Marcelo is sheltered there and wants him to attend public school for his senior year of high school. He offers Marcelo a deal: if he successfully works for a summer at his law firm in the mail room, he can choose which school to attend. Over the course of the summer, Marcelo deals with a lazy, scheming coworker, his feelings toward the opposite sex, a mystery involving a case the law firms seems to be on the wrong side of, and his developing friendship with coworker Jasmine. The writing is a bit stilted as the author successfully portrays Marcelo’s difficulty in understanding some of what is going on in the real world, but Marcelo is likeable and although his disability is not portrayed for laughs, the book has some funny parts. This is not a problem novel; though the reader will learn more about Asperberger’s and how it affects the human thought process, the story is really character driven. This is one of the few books of literary excellence that has high teen appeal as well. | ||||
| Book #104 | 11/16/09 | Goth Girl Rising | Barry Lyga | Grade: B |
| Kyra’s sequel was interesting but I’m not sure it was super necessary. | ||||
| Book #105 | 11/17/09 | Dweeb | Aaron Starmer | Grade: B |
| I picked this one up because the review said it was set in New Jersey and the cover had diverse faces on it. It was cute, but not really my thing. | ||||
| Book #106 | 11/20/09 | If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period | Gennifer Choldenko | Grade: B+ |
| I thought this was cute and somewhat of a unique topic for a middle grade book to cover. Didn’t quite have the charm of the Al Capone Books. | ||||
| Book #107 | 11/25/09 | North of Beautiful | Justina Chen Headley | Grade: B+ |
| I enjoyed Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) and enjoyed it, and picked this one up when a colleague recommended it for our Mock Printz. I didn’t find it Printz-worhty, but I did think it was a very strong, character driven novel, and I appreciated the physical journey the characters took, in addition to their personal changes (particularly for the mother). | ||||