My Life in…

Well, this was the first book I ever had to stop reading because I actually thought I was going to throw up. (I was in a very warm pizza place at the time, but it was definitely mostly the book). This book is gross and disturbing and I’m not even sure it made much sense. But like the Marbury lens, I also found the book too gripping to resist and kept going back for more. I’m not sure I like this book and I can’t even tell if it is a good book, but it’s really something. I’m hoping some more people review this soon because I need someone to articulate an opinion about this book, because I just can’t do it.

Reviewed from ARC received from Macmillan at ALA Annual.

This was a book club book that I didn’t pick, but it was a nice read. The girls in the group really liked it. I think my issue was that I had previously read A Room on Lorelai Street and The Adoration of Jenna Fox, both of which are amazing, and this was just good. The characters were okay and the plot was pretty predictable. I did like how the historic angle of the feud played out quite a bit.

I wasn’t initially very interested in the characters since the politician’s wife story seemed played out and I didn’t really feel very sympathetic for Diana at the beginning either. As the story went on, Weiner’s talent in creating believable, flawed, smart characters won me over. The book is worth it for the Thanksgiving dinner scene alone. A nice book that’s not quite as daring as Good in Bed or In Her Shoes and lacks the depth of Little Earthquakes, but it’s a good read regardless.

In a future society in North America called Panem, the capitol (which is where the rich and powerful people live) controls the districts (where live is varying degrees of difficult). Each year, the capitol holds a competition called the Hunger Games, to celebrate their victory over the districts. Each district is required to send one girl and one boy between the ages of 12-18 into an arena where they are forced to fight to the death. Twenty-Four teens enter, but only one can survive.

This was another reread for the book club, and while the discussion was less successful than expected (most of the kids hadn’t finished the book, which is unthinkable to me, because in my opinion, you just can’t put it down), I’m glad I had a chance to get back to this intense book. I will definitely reread Catching Fire before the end of August so I am ready for Mockingjay. Katniss is an incredible character, and I saw a lot of the sweetness in her relationships with people more the second time when I wasn’t tearing through to find out what happens next.

Like all of Giles books, this is a really dark story. It is insane how rapidly Ames’s perfect life is destroyed by her family and just how bad everything gets. She is desperate and you can see why she lets certain horrible things happen, because she feels so powerless. The ending is intense. The only problem with this book is that you can’t help but feel bad for Ames but there’s nothing to hope for either. I feel like there is no way for her to win, and that’s an unsettling thought.

Reviewed from ARC received from Little, Brown at ALA Annual.

I was not a fan of this book. Although Elroy is a nice guy and you want to root for him, this lacked the charm of books like Swim the Fly or Carter Finally Gets It. The episodic narrative left you feeling disconnected as every time you started to get interested in a character (like the girls Elroy tries to date), they would dump him and that would be it for them. The crazy ending seems to be tacked on and doesn’t fit the tone of the rest of the book.

Reviewed from ARC received from Macmillan at ALA Annual.

This was an excellent book. Both characters are strong and delightful and their obsessions and awkwardness work really well. The friendship and romance is really well-developed. There’s lots of humor here, particularly from Hank’s point of view, but you are always laughing with him and not at him. When I finished it, I kept telling my husband over and over, “I just finished a really good book.”

I wasn’t as fond of the third book in this series because it seemed like a placeholder. This installment really ramps up the action and forces Cammie to make some big decisions and leaps of faith. The ending is crazy and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

This was an interesting story for me to read, because I was only about a year older than the girls in the story, and while I was never a Tupac fan (much more of a Biggie fan, though I also liked Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg), I distinctly remember feeling the way these girls did when Kurt Cobain died. Aside from the personal connection, the strength of this book lies in the gorgeous writing. Every word out of these characters’ mouths is poetry but at the same time, it is all realistic dialogue. Though there isn’t a lot going on in the story, particularly for the narrator herself, the characters’ intelligence, wit and warm affection for each other sparkles. I liked how Neeka’s brothers’ stories were also fleshed out and provided two male perspectives.

I listened to this on audio. I needed to reread it for our book club, but since I didn’t have anyone signed up, I didn’t really want to devote the time to it. (Don’t get me wrong, I love this book; it was the first book that turned me into a fantasy fan. But it’s long and I had a pile of ARCs from BEA and ALA to get through). I had a 5 hour bus ride on the way home from Washington after ALA so I listened to this. It was amazing. It was so amazing that I continued to listen to it even after I had returned home. I sat with headphones on playing mindless computer games so I could concentrate. I am not an audio fan typically, but this one worked for me 100%.