Review: Maggot Moon

Title: Maggot Moon
Author: Sally Gardner
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year Published: 2013
Source: Library book
Rating: 4/5 stars

I wasn't sure what to expect from Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner. I picked it up because it is a Printz Honor book this year, and I'm making my way through the YALSA Hub Challenge. I was intrigued by the cover and the description, but really had no idea what I was getting into.

Standish, the main character, is an odd duck, and he describes his dystopian world in a way that is strange yet heartbreaking. The reader spends much of the book thinking about Soviet Russia, but is that really the world this is taking place in? The Motherland is about to land on the moon for the first time, but Standish and his Gramps are among the few who know what's really going on.

While I found the story compelling and Standish to be a great narrator, what won me over about Maggot Moon was the simplistic sentences that still managed to knock me over. Case in point: "Gramps was the only person that still pulled at the gravity in me." That one sentence speaks volumes about their relationship, and I found myself rereading that one line over and over. It was the tiny gems like that that made me really appreciate this book.

Review: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

I have a new best friend, and she doesn't even know it. To be fair, I think Mindy Kaling is going to have a lot of new best friends after writing Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns).

If you're reading Kaling's book because you love The Office, you'll get some interesting behind-the-scenes stuff (but more about the writers room and less about the acting portion of the show). If you're reading Kaling's book because someone had already taken Bossypants out of the library, you're still in for funny ride. If you're reading Kaling's book because you enjoy awkward tales of youth, you're in luck (I mean, just look at the author photo on the back cover and try not to simultaneously cringe and chuckle). But mostly, if you're reading Kaling's book because you enjoy good humorous memoirs, you've come to the right place.

The book is a good mix of Mindy's life, which I especially enjoyed because we're roughly the same age and we grew up in the same area, so I've been to ALL THE PLACES, and quirky essays about Mindy's thoughts on things like karaoke, chest hair on men, and the "Irish exit."

There is no way for me to adequately describe how funny this book is. I read it in drips and drabs during lunch breaks at work, which I take in an office shared by two women. I had to continuously stifle my laughter because I knew I was interrupting their work, but quite a few snorts, chuckles, and hoots of joy escaped. Somehow, they didn't kick me out.

4/5 stars

Buy Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? on Amazon
Buy Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? at a local store through Indie Bound

Review: Revolution

I have to admit, when I first heard about this book last year when it came out, I thought it sounded kind of stupid. I don't think I heard more than a one-sentence description before deciding that I didn't need to read this one. It had something to do with "two girls, living two centuries apart..." and I was out.

What a difference a year makes, huh? I was scanning through titles on my library's digital audiobook catalog and stumbled upon Revolution again, but this time, I took the time to read the full description. I couldn't wait to stick it on my iPod. What struck me so differently this time? I have no idea, but I'm so glad that it worked out, because I absolutely loved this book.

The story follows Andi, a privileged girl who lives in Brooklyn, attending private school with the cast of Gossip Girl and only awkwardly getting along with any of them. She'd rather be playing her guitar, which she plays very, very well. In fact, music is her escape - from dealing with the sudden death of her brother, from her mother who has mentally slipped away from the world, from her father who has left them behind. So when her father drags her, kicking and screaming, to Paris (where he's going for work), it's no surprise that she'll do anything she can to get back home, even if that means working on her thesis (about a French musician) like her father wants. While she's pouting around the apartment they're staying in, she finds the journal of Alexandrine, a girl caught between the royals and the revolutionaries during the French Revolution - and that's when the story really starts to pull together.

Andi's voice is what really hooked me on the story. Since I was listening to the audiobook, it was like the story was being performed for me (one reader does Andi's part, including accents for the various characters, and another read's Alex's diary entries). But even now, flipping through the actual book to write this, Andi's voice jumps off the page. She feels like a real girl who has had to deal with things that no one should have to deal with (teen or not), and her being rich and privileged hasn't helped her one bit. She is in turns desperate, exhausted, exhilarated, suicidal, full of life, pouty, and a million other things (like most teens, in fact).

The story was mostly compelling. Like I said, Andi's voice kept things fresh and interesting for me. The segments that were Alex's diary entries lagged a little bit in comparison. (The might also have lagged because I find diary entries in general to be a bit of a cliche, but to be fair, they were used perfectly in this case.) Had I been reading the book instead of listening to it, though, I would have been able to skim through those bits and gone happily on my way.

I was very happy to find Donnelly's playlist on her website after finishing the book. Music plays so heavily into the story, and Andi name-checks all kinds of musicians and songs, so it was great to see them all listed (although the list seems awfully short, but I guess a lot of the songs were repeated over and over again in the book).

4/5 stars

Buy Revolution on Amazon
Buy Revolution at a local store through Indie Bound

Review: When You Reach Me

Working in a bookstore, with the help desk right in the middle of the kids books, I get asked in-depth questions about things I've never (or may never) read. Especially when it comes to middle grade books (the level before YA, which I am much more familiar with). And especially especially when it comes to the Massachusetts Children's Book Award picks, which we have in one convenient display. I've decided to start reading more of them, just so I can not sound like a fool when I'm trying to tell parents or kids about them.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead was my first pick from this year's list (and I listened to the audiobook on my commute to and from work). The description, about a girl, Miranda, living in New York City in 1978 who finds a mysterious note - "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter." - was intriguing, and I thought it would be a simple mystery about who wrote the note. But this book is so, so much more.

At first, the story just seems like a tale of a girl living in New York, dealing with the homeless man who lives on the corner, bullies, a distant best friend, and her mother's desire to be on a game show. Miranda is smart and fairly savvy, and even if this story didn't get into the mysterious note, it would be an interesting picture of a child's life in New York in the 70s. But when she finds this note, the real mystery kicks in, and the breadcrumbs left throughout the book lead to a very satisfying conclusion.

Miranda's favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time (one of my favorites when I was her age), and Rebecca Stead ties that book into her narrative extremely well with discussions on time travel and metaphysics that you would think would fly over the heads of kids, but instead, reach right out to them. This is actually a great companion to A Wrinkle in Time, and since listening to this audiobook, I've been selling this to kids who enjoying A Wrinkle in Time and vice versa.

4/5 stars

Buy When You Reach Me on Amazon
Buy When You Reach Me from a local store through Indie Bound

Review: The Magician King

I could not have been more excited to hear that Lev Grossman was following up his amazing book The Magicians only two years later with The Magician King. I remember devouring The Magicians, which at the time I likened to an adult version of Harry Potter, at breakneck speeds. So getting my hands on a copy (well, virtually, and that's a whole 'nother story) of The Magician King was a priority.

First, I should say that I regret not re-reading The Magicians. Grossman jumps right into the story with no real refresher to speak of. I felt myself struggling to remember exactly what had happened to characters in the first book when the events were alluded to here.

Overall, I loved the Magician King and the way it continued this imaginative story arc. Is much of this book (hell, the series) cribbed from classic children's literature? Absolutely. This book reeks of the Chronicles of Narnia, mostly The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, just like the first book was obviously influenced by Harry Potter. And while I found this a bit grating at times (I get it! Two kings and two queens, just like Narnia! Wise talking animals! A ship sailing into uncharted waters!), for the most part, this book works precisely because we all know the stories they're alluding to. However, I ended up enjoying the parts that felt familiar but weren't the most. (Here I mean the fable of the quest for the seven keys of Fillory, which the main plot revolves around.)

The story follows two paths: Quentin, king of Fillory, ventures out on a quest (ostensibly to collect taxes from a far-off province) and learns what it means to be a hero, and a flashback to Julia, a magic school reject, becoming a hedge witch and then so, so much more. At first, I found the two narratives jarring - why should I care about Julia's past when Quentin is obviously the one we care about? But as Quentin's quest progresses, the parallels with Julia's quest to become skilled in magic become obvious. The idea of humility versus hubris in a hero comes up repeatedly, but not in a way that is obtrusive or annoying.

Obviously, it's a bit silly to review a sequel here without having reviewed the original book. Like I said, it's been a while since I read it, but I can't recommend it enough (even having forgotten most of everything). Trust me, read The Magicians - you won't want to wait to dive right into The Magician King.

4/5 stars

Review: Texas Gothic

I have to admit, I didn't have high hopes for Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. The description on the back included witches, cowboys, and ghosts. I started flipping through it, though, and immediately recognized it for what it was. It was like home, something comforting from my childhood.

YA wasn't a big thing when I was a teen, and probably most of the YA I read was cheesy teen horror stories by Diane Hoh, Richie Tankersley Cusick, and Christopher Pike (Pike being the high end of the bunch). If you're my age, you know exactly the books I'm talking about, especially the embossed covers with more than their share of neon colors. (Cusick's Vampire was a particular favorite of mine.) These books were easy to read and almost felt like an episode of Scooby Doo (more bad guys being unmasked at the end, less talking dogs and stoners... well, sometimes there were stoners). There was always danger, but never too much to worry about, and the main girl (it was always a girl) used a little Nancy Drew sleuthing to figure out what was going on.

And that's exactly what I found in Texas Gothic. In fact, Nancy Drew is referenced a number of times, so Clement-Moore is obviously a fan of the genre herself. And for this particular sub-genre, the book is well-written, fast-paced, and highly enjoyable. I've seen enough of Texas to understand the environment perfectly, and the Hot Cowboy Neighbor (that might as well be his name) was the right mix of annoying and attractive. I loved the addition of real magic - the main character's family are all real witches, as much as she tries to stay out of that life - gave the story a little more body than others like it.

Is this fine literature? No. But that wasn't exactly what I was looking for on a quiet beach weekend. The high entertainment value of Texas Gothic makes it fun for any horror- or mystery-loving teen (or nostalgic adult). Bonus points for this being a self-contained story as well.

4/5 stars

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

When the advanced copy of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children came into the bookstore, we passed it around and laughed over how it smelled. There was a serious amount of ink in the book (there are a large number of full-page photos), and that much ink smells strange. But then I read the back cover and I forgot about how it smelled. (Note: I haven't picked up an actual copy to see how it smells.)

When Jacob's grandfather (with whom he was very close) dies suddenly and tragically, Jacob understandably has a hard time dealing with it. He becomes obsessed over the stories his grandfather used to tell him about his youth at a strange orphanage in Wales and the odd photographs he had as proof. So obsessed, in fact, that his therapist and parents think he should visit the tiny island in Wales and see for himself that there is nothing strange going on. Well, that backfires. Wouldn't be much of a story if it didn't.

Like I mentioned, the book is peppered with photographs of odd children, many doing impossible things like floating or creating fire in their hands. Author Ransom Riggs is also a photographer and collector of old photos. He began collecting the images in the book and quickly saw a story forming; he collected more to fill in specific gaps in the story as he wrote. The outcome is that the reader gets a much firmer grasp on these odd people than if there were no images to go along with the text. I'm not saying I want to see this tactic taken with too many more books (I'm sure it would get old), but I love the interplay between the text and images in this case.

The story is fast-paced and quirky. I wanted to know more and more about this odd little Welsh island, both past and present. Jacob's relationship with his father, an ornithologist who accompanies him on his trip, is very realistic, especially their exasperation with each other. As the story went on, the mythology became more and more complex, and there is clearly more than one book's worth of story to be told. Definitely an enjoyable read that is great for both the YA and the adult sets.

4/5 stars

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher through my bookstore job.

Review: Divergent

Hmm, where to start with Divergent . I got my hands on an advanced copy of this book about a month before it was released, and even then, the hype was pretty huge. Everything I read was insanely positive, and I had high hopes that this was going to be something more than a weak Hunger Games copy.

At the start of the book, though, I had a hard time caring all that much. Beatrice lives in a society where everyone is split into one of five factions based on personality traits: Abnegation (selflessness), Candor (honesty), Erudite (intelligence), Amity (peacefulness), or Dauntless (bravery). As a teenager, everyone chooses their faction, but it is rare that anyone leaves the faction in which they've been raised (presumably because those traits would be so hardwired into them by then). Beatrice quickly learns that she is a Divergent (although she doesn't really learn what that means), and she must decide whether to stay in Abnegation or choose another path.

Wouldn't be much of a book if she stayed in Abnegation, now would it?

I really wanted to like this book from the very beginning, but the strictness of the faction traits kept getting in the way. I kept wondering (probably aloud) to myself how this society could reach a place where everyone was so one-dimensional and how it could continue to stay like that. It wasn't until about halfway through the book when anyone within the book seemed to ask these same questions (coincidentally, this is about when I started to enjoy the book).

Also, a majority of the book was something of a training montage, as Beatrice (Tris, now) learns the ways of another faction. If (should I say when?) this gets made into a movie, they would be well-served to make this a total of five minutes. Thank God for cut scenes. I didn't need to read about every instance of her learning to be less selfless.

But like I said, about halfway through the book, the story really starts to pick up, and I found myself as captivated as I had hoped I would be. Tris' burgeoning romance picks up (don't worry, moms, it's very clean and tasteful), and she also starts to learn that maybe the factions aren't as clear-cut as she thought. I finally found myself in her shoes, and I couldn't wait to see where the story was going.

The climax of the story comes along quickly - almost too quickly, considering how much time was wasted on the aforementioned training - and I was left with an ending that did nothing but set up the next book. The story arc's conclusion felt too brief for a book that is almost 500 pages. Of course, I'm still interested in what happens next and will be waiting for the next book, but there could have been a better sense of closure.

Final thoughts? It's an interesting concept for a dystopia, and Roth's writing is strong and compelling. If it were a little shorter, though, it might have made for a stronger story.

4/5 stars