48HBC Wrap-Up

And my final stats are (drumroll please):
Networking/Blogging: 2hrs 20mins
Reviewing: 1hr
Actually Reading: 16hrs 5mins

For a total of 19hrs and 25mins! Just short of the (unspoken) 20hr goal I was aiming for.

Books:
The Brimstone Key (Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles) - DONE
Once Was Lost - DONE
The Bar Code Tattoo  - not feeling it; back to the library
Tithe - DONE
Saving Maddie - DONE
Stolen - just getting started

Of my six current library books, my goal for this weekend, that only leaves one untouched! Plus I read The Brimstone Key, which wasn't on my to-do list, but was great nonetheless. I didn't write as many reviews as I wanted, but I'll get to those soon.

I had a lot of fun, and I hope you all did too!

Refresh Refresh - Mini-Review

I have a bad habit of checking books out from the library, reading them, copying down quotes I think I might want to use in my review, and then returning them to the library. Given the volume of books I read, those quotes don't help me that much if I wait too long to sit down and write the review. The books that I'm "mini-reviewing" left an impression on me and I feel that I can recommend them without hesitation, I just can't remember enough little details to write full reviews.

Novgorodoff, Danica. Refresh Refresh. Adapted from the screenplay by James Ponsoldt; based on the short story by Benjamin Percy. Color by Hilary Scamore. New York: First Second, 2009. Print.

[Book cover credit: librarything.com/work/8599085]

Booktalk:

A small town is turned upside down when most of the men, Reservists, are sent to Iraq. The local recruitment officer tries to work his magic on the remaining men in town, including about-to-graduate high schoolers Josh, Cody, and Gordon. They manage to avoid him while trying to deal with lives without their fathers. Home life is different for each but hard for all as they try to learn to be men without a wide range of role models around. They spend their days being as macho as they can in public, going as far as to start a fighting club and take on local bullies, while in private they're glued the their computers, awaiting emails from their fathers.

Mini-Review:

I don't really know how to write a review of this book, which I guess is why I haven't. It's so sad, all around, and so hopeless in so many ways. The three boys that are at the center of the story aren't the only ones affected by the war, most of the town is, so there isn't really anywhere for them to go to get away from the worry and fear that they themselves feel. Each of them deals with it in their own ways, coming together for their fights. The prevailing feeling is pain. The fights just make that pain physical, shared, and visible.

Most of the story is told through the artwork. The dialog and text are pretty sparse. It works so well in this graphic novel that I can't imagine the short story it was based on. The lack of words make the faces and feelings take on so much more meaning and, in the end, the feelings are what this book is about. And it's beautifully drawn. The images pulled me into the story in a way that I don't know if the short story would have.

Anyway, I really thought Refresh Refresh was very good, but I know that I'm not doing it any kind of justice here. Ninja Librarian's review made me check it out, so I'll let her convince you too. :)

Book source: Philly Free Library

48HBC Update #2

I got home late from work last night, then stayed up late reading, and then slept in longer than I meant to this morning. oops.

Here are my numbers so far:
Networking/Blogging: 50mins
Reviewing: 45mins
Actually Reading: 9hrs 5mins
Pages read:  480
Books:
The Brimstone Key (Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles) - DONE
Once Was Lost - DONE
The Bar Code Tattoo  - not feeling it; back in the pile
Tithe - just getting started

Clearly today must be my day to shine. I have until 10:30pm EST to really rack up some hours, and maybe even get some reviewing done.

Congrats to all of you who are finishing up today!

House of Stairs - Mini-Review

I have a bad habit of checking books out from the library, reading them, copying down quotes I think I might want to use in my review, and then returning them to the library. Given the volume of books I read, those quotes don't help me that much if I wait too long to sit down and write the review. The books that I'm "mini-reviewing" left an impression on me and I feel that I can recommend (most of) them without hesitation, I just can't remember enough little details to write full reviews.


 

Sleator, William. House of Stairs. New York: Firebird - Penguin Group, 1974; 2004. Print.

[Book cover credit: librarything.com/work/25469]
 
Awards:
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1974)
 
Booktalk:
When five teenaged orphans each wake up alone to find themselves trapped in a chamber of staircases that would rival an M.C. Escher print (or a David Bowie/Jim Henson hallucination), none of them are all that surprised. Being an orphan isn't easy, and they're used to be put through the ringer by the state. Peter, Lola, Blossom, Abigail, and Oliver find each other on the staircases and figure that they are being put through some kind of test. When it quickly becomes clear that to fail the test means to starve, they start to turn on each other in order to "win."
 
Mini-Review:
I checked this out because more than a couple people on the yalsa-bk listserv said that The Maze Runner, which I purchased months ago but haven't gotten to yet, is a redone version of The House of Stairs. I can't find the emails now, but I think I remember them saying it wasn't even that great of a do-over.
 
Gee, I hope they're wrong.
 
The House of Stairs did have a lot of weirdness and suspense, especially once the kids all figure out what the machine really wants them to do in order to get food (hint: it's not good), and I did care about the couple of characters that I was supposed to care about. I think where this book fell short for me was the complete lack of backstory and explanation. Those of you who've been reading along here know that I'm not all that into long expository passages; I'd really rather just get to the story. That's all The House of Stairs was! Just story! Still, it didn't work for me. I do need some explanation, and the answers that Sleator offered up at the end were just too little too late to make me like this book. I had too many lingering questions, and not in the good way.
 
That said, there is a reason this book has been continually printed since it's publication (although, the reason for the bad 80's cover on the 2004 edition still eludes me). It's short and suspenseful and it sucks you in. And it would be good for discussion. A lot of my lingering questions would work well in a group, such as "Why AREN'T these kids shocked to be used as lab rats? Is it because they're orphans, because they're kids, or because this might be some kind of post-apocolyptic world (There is a big discussion about the last time anyone had real meat and about the government living in a compound)?" One (more) caveat, though, for group sharing: there is some serious fat-phobia going on here. One of the orphans is overweight, possibly because she hasn't been an orphan that long and possibly because she wants everything for herself. The fact that this isn't clarified bothered me, as did the fact that she was much more obsessed with getting food than anyone else. These kids are actually starving; the fat girl shouldn't be the only one obsessing. But hey, you can talk about that in a group too.
 
 
Book source: Philly Free Library

48HBC Update

So starting late last night didn't work out so well for me. All of my lack of reading was because of this little guy:

I don't begrudge a minute missed reading. He was SO CUTE and SWEET, even if he was really really upset about the lack of mommy for a good portion of our evening together. More of my friends should come to town for conferences with babies I can borrow because, let's be honest, there is a serious lack of babies in my day to day life.

Anyway, here are my stats so far which bring me through this morning's commute (I'll count all the stuff I do on the sly while at work once I get home):

Networking: 15mins

Reviewing: zilch

Actually reading: 2hrs 30 mins

And I don't even want to talk about how few pages I got through in that 2 1/2 hours, as most of that time looked like some variation of this:

Not that I'm complaining. :)

Secret Keeper - Mini-Review

I have a bad habit of checking books out from the library, reading them, copying down quotes I think I might want to use in my review, and then returning them to the library. Given the volume of books I read, those quotes don't help me that much if I wait too long to sit down and write the review. The books that I'm "mini-reviewing" left an impression on me and I feel that I can recommend them without hesitation, I just can't remember enough little details to write full reviews.

Perkins, Mitali. Secret Keeper. New York: Delacorte Press - Random House Children's Books, 2009. Print.
[Book cover credit: librarything.com/work/7462206]

Booktalk:
When Asha's father moves to New York to look for work, he leaves his family in the care of his brother. Asha and her elder sister Reet are both pulled out of school, where Asha especilly excels, and are forced to live in a house that is much more traditional, and therefore restrictive, than their own. As they adjust to these changes, their mother sinks into depression and money begins to run out. When Uncle decides that a good marriage for Reet, who is beautiful and attracting a lot of attention, will fix both of these growing problems, Asha must take drastic measures to keep her family intact until her father sends for them.

Mini-Review:
The best part about this book is the descriptive language that Perkins uses throughout. Everything is so lush and easy to feel or visualize. At the same time, she doesn't coddle her readers, most of whom aren't familiar with 1970s Indian dress and customs; she does not go to great lengths to spell everything out. Because she lets you kind of figure things out for yourself as you go along (with the help of a glossary of Indian words at the back of the book) there were no obtrusive info-dumps to pull you out of the story. Some people may want more description of the customs and traditions acted out in the book, but I was happy to get on with the story!

Asha is young and chafing in her girl-hood. She had a pretty free and open childhood, learning how to do things like play tennis and cricket, but all of that stopped when she got her period and she had to become a proper young lady. Further restrictions are placed on her and Reet when they move to Uncle's house. The contrast of their lives inside the house (always inside the house) to that of her male cousin Raj is pointed, both to the reader and to Asha. Watching Asha come in to her own and start to make decisions for her family in this environment is all the more amazing. Because the story centers around this aspect of Asha's life, as well as how her growing confidence can or cannot save her sister and mother, I think that this would make a great middle grade read as well.

I really enjoyed Secret Keeper and look forward to reading more of Mitali Perkins' books in the future! She's also a prolific blogger over at mitali's fire escape.


Book source: Philly Free Library

48 Hour Book Challenge!

The 48 Hour Book Challenge is here again!

Last year I finished without roughly 14.5 hours and 4 books. I'm hoping to do a little better than that this year. I want to finish at least the 6 YA and middle grade books I currently have checked out from the library.

I'm also going to try to post some mini-reviews of books that have been sitting on my desk for months. They're all (well, mostly) great books, I just haven't gotten around to writing the reviews. If I haven't written full reviews of them by now, it's not going to happen, but they still deserve some attention! I have a bad habit of checking books out from the library, reading them, copying down quotes I think I might want to use in my review, and then returning them to the library. Given the volume of books I read, those quotes don't help me that much if I wait too long to sit down and write the review. The books that I'm going to "mini-review" left an impression on me and I feel that I can recommend them without hesitation, I just can't remember enough little details to write full reviews. This seems the perfect weekend to do some recommending rather than full on reviewing.


However you choose to participate in this year's 48HBC, have a great weekend everyone, and get reading!

48HBC is done for me :(

Well, I didn't do as well as I'd hoped:

books: 4
pages: 1327
time reading: 12:32
time blogging and stuff: 2:00
giving me a grand total of 14:32 hours

Not overly impressive, but maybe my last weekend to run errands before a cross-country trip wasn't the best timing for me either. I had fun though! And this definitely put a dent in the pile of books I was thinking about trying to fit in my carry-on!

Hush

Napoli, Donna Jo. Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale. New York: Simon Pulse, 2008.
[Book cover credit: librarything.com/work/2977359]

Awards:
ALA Best Books for Young Adults

Booktalk:
Melkorka, the first born on an Irish king, is used to wielding a kind power over those around her. After a trip to Dublin, where her brother is injured, Melkorka's power begins to ebb. No one has power over the fever that wracks the body of the boy who should be the next king and threatens the kingdom. When she and her sister Brigid are taken by a marauding slave ship, it seems as if Melkorka's power will be gone forever. With the help of others taken in the night, she learns that small victories also hold power, and her silence holds her captors in awe and fear of her. Will it this new, small power be enough to carry her fragile spirit through the trials of slavery? Will it carry her home?

Review:
I loved this book. This is the first of Donna Jo's young adult books that I've read, and it holds all the magic of story and words that she displays in her early chapter books. Most of the book, especially after Melkorka and her sister are taken, takes place in Melkorka's head and through her eyes. Her transformation from a spoiled princess to a strong and defiant young woman is slow and natural, as are all her misgivings about herself along the way that we are privy to.

The setting and the story are, as in all of Donna Jo's books, well-researched and richly described. We see them through Melkorka's eyes, eyes that have never left her corner of Ireland, so the detailed descriptions do not distract from or feel out of place in the story. The customs and actions of the various peoples Melkorka comes across during her travels on the slave ship are also described and their nationalities and trade routes are explained. Why is the Russian slave trader that capture Melkorka at a Norse tri-annual democratic gathering? For reasons a, b, and c, which the reader learns as plot elements rather than fact.

The handling of the slave trade is also delicately handled. These men do not only pillage, and the young girls who are not raped early on, Melkorka included, are later sold at a higher price because of their virginity. The rapes are not graphic, but they are present. Melkorka's first night with her new owner is told through her series of denials rather than what is physically happening to her. The pain, physical and emotional, and rage and anguish are still there, but the violence is not. Especially in a book where the rape of female slaves is omnipresent, this way of handling it is both honest and tactful.

I love Donna Jo. I have yet to read a book of hers that was not beautiful. Read her books and, if you have the chance, see her speak. She's amazing.

Unwind

Shusterman, Neal. Unwind. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009.
[Book cover credit: librarything.com/work/3813967]

Awards:
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2008)
Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2008)
Top Ten Quick Picks (2008)

Booktalk:
Following the Heartland War, a second civil war between the pro-choicers and the pro-lifers, a compromise is reached. There will be no more abortions, but parents can choose to "retroactively terminate the pregnancy" of a child that does not meet expectations by the age of 13. Parents can choose to unwind their teenagers. Too many fights at school, bad grades, simply being unexceptional. Anything can convince your parents that you're not worthy to reach adulthood. Anything can turn you into an Unwind.

Review:
I heard about this book during that dead time when there were no more hardbacks left and no paperbacks yet. I feel like I have been waiting forever for it to come out in paperback, and it was worth the wait. The book follows Connor, whose parents chose to have him unwound; Risa, who is a ward of the state who is not special enough to be worth the money it would take to house and feed her until her 18th birthday; and Lev, who has always know he would be unwound as a tithe from his parents, the 10th percent of their children. Each grow and change as normal teenagers have a tendency to do, but they do it while hiding from the cops and traveling in an underground railroad type connection of protectors. Their romances and fights never manage to take precedence over their anger, betrayal, hurt, and fear about the orders that have been given to end their "undivided" existence, but they do reinforce the normalness of all of the teenagers depicted in the book, which makes the thought of them being unwound all the worse.

Given the content, especially the origins of the concept of unwinding teenagers, this book was decidedly not preachy. In fact, while you know that unwinding is really really wrong before you make it out of the first chapter, a definitive stance on abortion is never taken. The ways that society can go wrong when a single idea is carried out to its horrific extreme, however, are illustrated in a way that is perfectly clear. As are the consequences of knowing right from wrong, seeing others suffer, and doing nothing about it.

What the Dickens

Maguire, Gregory. What the Dickens: The Story of a Rogue Tooth Fairy. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2009.
[Book cover credit: librarything.com/work/3240696]

Booktalk:
On a dark and stormy night. Wait. Do over. On a very dark night with no power because of a possible hurricane (much better), Dinah settles down to listen to her cousin, Gage, tell a story. While she feels isolated in her house with only her brother, sister, and cousin for company during the storm, she hears the story of What-the Dickens, a hyphenated name much like Winnie-the-Pooh, who was hatched alone in a tuna can after a storm, much like the one Dinah is trying to forget is happening now, instead of in a pile of 80 or 90 of his siblings. Dinah and her family fear the storm raging outside and the lack of food within, all while worrying about Dinah's parents who are out in the storm somewhere. What-the-Dickens' story is either a fairytale, a distraction, or a silly waste of time, as Dinah's brother says, but when What-the-Dickens finally finds others like him and is STILL all alone, and in danger to boot, things get interesting, both in the story and in the windswept house.

Review:
Having read many of Maguire's books for adults, I was assuming this would be a twist on a story I knew, not that I really know any stories about the tooth fairy, and I thought it would be a dark one at that. Instead it is a light, whimsical tale that is completely new, just with names that I already knew. It's a nice break from all of the issue fiction and paranormal teenagers that I've been reading about lately, and I didn't even know that I needed a break. No heavy thinking involved. Just a really good story.

48HBC

The 48 hour book challenge starts.....NOW!

Well, really, about 15 mins ago.

Since 1 out of every 6 hours can be spent blogging and stuff, maybe I'll manage to figure out some kind of graph of my hours/pages for the sidebar. Last night C was talking about how cool it would be to enter my pages read and hours reading into excel to build some kind of graph to determine my average rate of reading per book. Might be cool...but I'd rather just have an hours out of 48 that I've read/blogged and a running total on page numbers.

The latest you can start is Saturday morning at 7am, so if you see this before then and think it might be cool, SIGN UP!