Patrick Ness: The Knife of Never Letting Go

One Word Summary:  Poo. Todd. Poo. Poo. Poo.
Synopsis: A boy and his dog go on a very long journey.
Criticism: I liked this book the entire I was reading it. There's one point in the story where one of the villians shows up again, and Viola says, "You've got to be kidding." I don't know if the author was trying to be all tongue in cheek, but I laughed. I liked the premiss. Space pilgrims settle a far away planet, fight with the native aliens, and are infected with a disease that enables them to hear everyone's thoughts all the time, oh and it kills all the women. Very Lord of the Flies. I liked the ideas Mr. Ness explored. Redemption. Gender Roles. Manhood. Choice. And I really liked the dog, Manchee. I didn't realize I was bored until I got to the cliff hanger ending. I didn't realize I was annoyed until I started leafing through book two and said aloud, "You've got to be kidding!" That's when I decided I hate villians that won't die and stories that never end. This could have been great.

Jonathan Stroud: The Ring of Solomon

One Word Summary: dancing hippopotamus

Synopsis: Bartimaeus is Back! It's about 3000 years back, but he doesn't disappoint. Immediately after escaping from and destroying a ruthless master, Bartimaeus is summoned to serve an even worse magician. His job is to help build Solomons temple with some of his best djinn pals. As punishment for his sass he gets reassigned to patrol duty to protect the roads into Jerusalem. This is where he rescues and puts his faith in a young nonmagician to set him free. What he gets is an adventure full of daring stunts, political intrigue, and impossible odds.

Rate: 5

Joanne Harris: Runemarks

One Word Summary: Chaos is necessary
Critique: I liked how Harris played with words. I liked learning about Odin and his crew, there aren't enough stories featuring Norse gods. I liked the maps at the beginning of the book. Who wouldn't? The plot is intricate, I expect she was pulling her hair out in parts. Harris must have had fun writing her characters. The goblins reminded me of Terry Pratchet's Mac Feegles. On the whole I smiled through this engaging book.
Rate: 3 oracles
Teaser Synopsis: In a world where order rules and anything magical is stamped out Maddy Smith is proud of her glamour. With the dubious help of her only friend and mentor, One Eye, she learns the old stories about the old gods. This story begins on a typical Monday morning 500 years after the end of the world (Ragnarok) when she unwittingly opens the door to the world below; where the adventure of a lifetime awaits.


Spoiler Synopsis: One Eye instructs Maddy to travel into the tunnels beneath Red Horse Hill to find a tool he desperately needs to save the world. He doesn't tell her what it is. He also refuses to accompany her because his old enemy is likely guarding the thing. Maddy is courageous. She forces a goblin to guide her. When she's good and lost and hungry and powerless, the goblin deserts her. But she does find the thing trapped in some sort of geyser. It's like a quartz volley ball. Almost immediately she meets a young man, who appears unmagical and has a plausible story for also being lost in world below. (Wow... this is getting LONG) Maddy decides to trust him, despite One Eye's warnings to trust no one. And that really begs the question: is One Eye trustworthy? Later she learns her mistake. It turns out the young man is Loki and he is One Eye's not-dead-after-all enemy. Anyhow, because her glamour is so powerful she's able to free the thing from the geyser. It turns out the thing is an Oracle. And the Oracle sees a battle looming with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Which, I guess means, Ragnorak was not the end of the world after all. Alright so... meanwhile Maddy's archenemy (some sniveling unimaginative mortal boy) alerts the authorities that peculiar things are happening at Red Horse Hill. The Parson, an ambitious member of the Order (a fanatical hegemonic group with religious undertones determined to stamp out chaos), with the help of a conveniently near junior magistrate lays siege to the Hill. I can't remember all the details but the Order capture One Eye (who turns out to be Odin). Maddy inadvertently wakens the the wife of Njord (a huntress) who is one of the seven sleepers (AKA: the Vanir who survived the end of the world). The Huntress Goddess wants Loki dead. While she's confronting Maddy, who has hidden the oracle behind some ice, Loki falls from the ceiling. He saves himself by claiming to be in alliance with Odin and to have possession of the oracle. They all go to rescue Odin from the Order. Meanwhile the junior magistrate is preparing to enter Odin's mind and steal everything he knows. The Parson interferes with the inquisition. The magistrate dies. Odin escapes. The Parson hears a voice in his head. Ummm, and then I can't remember why but The Huntress forms an alliance with the Parson. Odin goes somewhere. Maddy and Loki decided to travel to the Underworld to fetch reinforcements, first they pick up the oracle hidden behind some ice in where the Vanir are sleeping. The Huntress returns to the mountains. The other Vanir wake up. She wants them to join with the order against Odin. They are all undecided. They go to meet Odin. The Huntress kill Freya and frame Odin. The Parson's wife gets in the way. Freya isn't killed. Odin goes somewhere again. The other Vanir decide against the Order. The Huntress is spitting mad. Odin has gone to Red Horse Hill. The Huntress and the Parson are chasing him. The Parson's wife her secret admirer and his pig follow them. And the other Vanir take up the rear. Loki and Maddy make a deal with Hel to enter the underworld (the place where the dead Aesir are trapped in eternal torment). The must leave there bodies behind.... really you should just read the book.

Question:
Am I overly sensitive or was there an anti christian agenda in this book?

Alfred A Knoph 2008

Kristin Harmel: After

One Word Summary: Kate's Club

Synopsis: Lacey's father is dead. He was a great dad. One year later she's relishes the opportunity to help other kids who've lost a parent too soon. Turns out there's a lot of kids grieving.

Review: Is is heinous to criticize a story about a girl who's father/mother/sibling dies? In short this novel was okay, but not particularly memorable. I liked that Kristin Harmel included other ways a child can loose a parent. I liked the shifting dynamics of a family coping with loss, and the depiction of the other two families as well.

Rate: 2 rainbows

Other Books:

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessin
That one with the girl who gives a boy a leprechaun hat. She dies tragically and he leaves it in her coffin. She's the friend of the girl who's mother dies.
The one with the girl who learns to surf. She's from New Jersey.

Delacort Press 2010

Suzanne Collins: Catching Fire

One Word Summary: Team Peeta
Review: Good. I spent an excessive amount of time discussing the merits of Suzanne Collins' emotionally detached style with my friend N. Bryson. I even called my best friend, P. Neale, in Canada to hear her opinion of the finale, Mockingjay. Everyone is talking about this book, because there is so much to say.

Synopsis: It's the quarter quell. Katniss and Peeta need to survive another round of the hunger games. And President Snow is out to get Katniss, before the districts rebel.
Rate: 3.5 atomic bombs
Censorship: The bad guy is named Snow!

Kristin Cashore: Graceling

One Word Summary: kindness is a grace everyone can have
Review: Great writing. Compelling plot. Interesting characters. A dash of mystery. And my favourite, a little romance. Kristin Cashore did a wonderful job.
Synopsis: It's a world divided into seven kingdoms. There are people with extraordinary abilities known as gracelings. Katsa's grace is the ability to kill anyone. She's used by her uncle, one of seven Kings, as a sort of strong arm to enforce his will. She hates her grace, because people are afraid of her. One day, with a little help from Po, she realizes she doesn't have to act the monster. Together they strike out on their own to save the kingdom from an unknown menace. While on her journey Katsa learns a few home truths about herself.
Rate: 4 insurmountable mountains

Harcourt Books 2008

Review: Another fantastic tale by Kristin Cashore.

Synopsis: On the other side of the mountains, the Kingdom of the Dells is at war with itself. Gracelings are unheard of, but there are monsters. They crave the taste of monster blood, they are irresistibly beautiful and they can control your mind. Fire is the only human monster alive. Most people hate and fear her. For the last 16 years she has lived quietly, but now she's compelled to help restore peace to the land. It's an opportunity to undo her father's wickedness. And really she wants a chance to prove she isn't the monster people think she is.

Rate: 3 red heads
Censorship: Teenagers do have sex.

Dial 2009

Todd Mitchell: The Secret to Lying

One Word Summary: Demons
Review: Todd Mitchell captured the torment being immature and unsatisfied in his novel TSTL. His writing is evocative without being unbearable. When I finally closed the book at 3am I let out a the breath I'd been holding forever. Although I never cut myself as a teenager, I remember feeling an intense loneliness that nothing could ease. I especially liked the dream sequences; they reminded me a little of Dave Egger's famous autobiography.
Synopsis: Unremarkable James jumps at the chance to reinvent himself. He's at a new school, making new friends, getting noticed by girls and finally doing stuff. However his new persona gets out of hand. He quickly morphs from Ignored to Mysterious to Pariah, all while he's trying to figure out what he wants.
Rate: 3.5 pranks
Censorship: Teenagers have sex. There are mental health issues.
Action List:
Read Todd Mitchell's first novel The Traitor King

Candlewick Press 2010

James Dasher: The Maze Runner

One Word Summary: Build a better mouse trap

Review: Did I like this book? In a word, Yes. The monster is a fascinating mixture of disgusting and frightening. It's an Edward Scissor Hands Rolly Polly Ooze Insect. Maybe now I should read Lord of the Flies. It'd be fun to compare the two. Anyhow, the ending is a bit of a tease. I'll have to read the next books to find out what is really going on. It's intriguing.

Synopsis: "Everything is about to change." That's the message the girl brings to the boys living in 'the glade', a warehouse style encampment surrounded by stone doors which lead to a maze with an exit no one can find. When the girl wakes up from her coma it becomes apparent that the glade residents must find a way out soon, or die. But who put them in the impossible maze? for what reason? and why can no one remember anything about their life before?

Rate: 3 scourges

Other Books:
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Random House 2009

Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games

One Word Summary: Reality TV used for evil

More Words: The writing is sparse. The story is thrilling. I read about this series in the New Yorker, and then a friend recommended it to me. Thank you M. Stewart. I liked THG, but sometimes I wonder why the reader is expected to accept information, because Katniss does, with no explanation. For example, I'm not entirely sure what makes the capitol a bad place- okay the people are frivilous and shallow, the wealth is unequally distributed, the Hunger Game is insane, the President has mean eyes, the government is totalitarian (AKA: the dystopic boogeyman) and there's some mystery about the Avoxes, but I'm still don't feel chilled. However I do like the spin on reality T.V. and I will read the next two books.

Synopsis: Each year one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts on Panem (what used to be the USofA) are chosen by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. A televised gladiator contest everyone is forced to watch. This year Katniss will be the female tribute. She has some terrible choices to make about love and survival and she must walk a subtle line between crowd pleasing and treason.

Tanith Lee: Wolf Star (Claidi Journals Series #2)

One Word Summary: Eerie
More Words: Fabulous. I can still picture the world Tanith Lee created with words. Claidi, her intrepid hero, is an endearing blend of self-doubt and spunk.
Synopsis: Claidi is kidnapped on her wedding day. Her captors abandon her in a crumbling palace with moving rooms and mechanical servants in the middle of a jungle on the other side of an ocean with an unsociable guardian who looks a lot like her fiance. But Claidi doesn't just accept her fate, she masters it.
Rate: 2 dolls

Maggie Stiefvater: Shiver

One Word Summary: Winter
More Words: I like the cover.
Synopsis: Grace has weird obsession with the wolves living in her backyard (and absolutely no parental supervision). One wolf is obsessed with her (He's really a werewolf struggling to maintain his humanity). After the wolves attack and kill a local teenager the town officials are out to destroy the wolves. Plus it turns out the rich-boy-vicitm turned into a werewolf and he's on a rampage. And then there are some other complications with Grace's friends. Anyhow Grace and her Wolf try to make everything right between the humans and the wolves.

Rate: 2 photographs

Lauren Barnholdt: One Night that Changes Everything

One Word Summary: Cheetos
More Words: I read a review that basically said there was no character development or growth and that the plot was banal. It ruined my ability to just enjoy the ride. One Night is a little questionable, but mostly I felt a robbed. There just wasn't enough romance. Anyhow, I liked Two Way Street, so LaLaLa. I refuse to read any reviews in case they ruin that story too.
Synopsis: A girl keeps a journal of all the things she wishes she had the courage to do. The girl's ex-boyfriend his friends steal her journal and threaten to publish it on-line if she doesn't take their dares. The dares, of course, come straight from the journal. It's fun. Just don't wonder why teenage boys would care to help a girl step out of her comfort zone. And don't wonder too much about the ex-boy friend.
Rate: 2 bikinis



One Word Summary: Hotel
More Words: I didn't need a review to help me along with my opinion this time. I didn't like the book, and I have no reason. I like the idea, I like the moral ending, I like the playa getting played, I like the new quirky best friend, I like the supportive sister, I like the ipod playlist, I like the romance... but I didn't like the book.
Dumb Question: What is three coats of mascara? Is it three applications to the upper lashes? or is it applying one coat on the bottom of the upper lashes, one coat on the top of the upper lashes and then one coat on the top of the lower lashes?
Synopsis: An underage math genius is roped into playing poker to earn a lot of money for college.
Rate: 2 Sweatshirts

One Word Summary: Liar
Synopsis: Devon is a liar. She tells a lot of lies. She says she's sorry and people forgive her.

Jill S. Alexander: The Sweetheart of Prosper County

One Word Summary: Bullies
More Words: Since I'vre read TSOPC I've come to the conclusion that Texas is a much more interesting place than I thought. FFA! Catfishing! Family Owned Hardware Stores! The book won a TAB* sticker on the cover-err I don't know what that means. Teens in my area like the story? Well, I liked it. The 'issues' got over simplified (& there were a lot) and I'm not sure if there was a romance. Still, I think I might go and get me some cowgirl boots.

Synopsis: Austin Grey wants to be someone. Her action plan is to win a spot on the hood of a fancy car in The-No-Jesus-Christmas Parade. She's going to raise a rooster, join the FFA and tell the school bully where he can stick it. Along the way she'll make some new friends and she'll learn that being someone means liking who she is.

Take Home Message: Make friends, everyone is worth knowing, except for spoilt bullies
Dedication: for my husband, Jon, who never gave up on the girl from Texas

Rate: 2 prizewinning roosters

Write/Story Scale: I read about this type of rating on another blog. I liked the idea, I'm stealing it. Sorry other blogger I dont know how to make links yet or I would give you credit.

Feiwel and Friends 2009

Megan Whalen Turner: A Conspiracy of Kings (Queen's Thief Series #4)

One Word Summary: Sophos
More Words: I love this series. I like the way MWT writes intrigue- she doesn't make my head spin and she's never annoying. Reading one of her stories is like being on a ride at Disney Land. You can just sit back, enjoy, look around, take pictures. Everything is going according to plan. Gen's convoluted plan; but he always lands on his feet. He's like a cat.

Dedication: To Diana Wynne Jones, thank you for the stories and for the leg up.
Synopsis: Sophos believes he's a poet and not a king. When his Uncle, Sounis, dies and leaves the country in turmoil Sophos races to his friend for help. Only Gen is now Eugenides, the king of Attolia. Their once easy friendship is encumbered by politics. Can Sophos man up and save his country from civil war and the Mede invasion? Will the paltry army Gen has spared to him help?
Rate: 3 pockets

Harper Collins 2010

Jaclyn Moriarty: The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie

One Word Summary: Poisonous
More Words: Jaclyn Moriarty, isn't that a great name? And her writing is hilarious. And she's from Australia. Her stories are like very expensive clocks. The Ghosts of Ashbury High is her latest novel, I'm excited to read it.

The Key to Understanding Teenagers:

1. They have a tendency toward reverie
2. They have trouble judging distances
3. They have difficulty with anti-climax

Synopsis: Nobody likes Bindy. She wouldn't believe it if you told her because she's the smartest and friendliest person she knows. What she doesn't see is that she's also the most annoying person anyone knows. To give her credit, she is trying to click with her peers. But it's not easy, especially since her life is falling apart. Could someone be trying to kill her? Poor girl.

Rate: 3 venomous snakes

Scholastic 2006

Carrie Ryan: The Dead-Tossed Waves

One Word Summary: Survival is not enough
Synopsis: It's years after Mary escapes the forest of hands and teeth. Her daughter, Gabry, only wants to stay inside the walls that keep her safe. Except one night she sneaks out with her friends. It should have been safe enough. No ever one got caught, or hurt, before, until this one night. And now, Gabry must leave the safety her home forever.
More Words: I thought I was done zombies, but I read a review in the New Yorker about the surge in Dystopic Writing for YA and I thought maybe I should try to understand the genre better. Really though, zombies creep me out. And books like The Uglies don't make me happy plus they become boring after book 5. And books like Feed are truly depressing. Anyhow, this is a great reference book if you worry about surviving a Zombie Apocalypse.

Rate: 2 mudo

Delacorte Press 2010

Kate Brian: Fake Boyfriend

One Word Summary: Let's go to paris

More Words: My husband asked me why I didn't just close the book and turn out the lights. I think my perpetual groanings and moanings were keeping him awake. Do other people talk to their books? Anyhow, the story is ridiculous, which makes if fun. I think Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys is better if you want to pretend you're twelve again.

Synopsis: Isabella's boyfriend dumped her two weeks before prom- after she's paid for everything. AND despite his slimy two timing ways she'd take him back in a heartbeat. What's a best friend to do but make up a fakeboyfriend on myspace for Isabella to fall in love with. Only if he's fake, how can he take her to prom. What's a bestfriend to do?

Quotes:
"Unbelievable," Vivi said, leaning back in her chair and crooking her arms behind her neck. "Less than an hour to make up a whole person"

Rate: 1 passport

Simon & Schuster 2007

Catherine Gilbert Murdock: Front and Center

One Word Summary: Birdhouse in your soul
More Words: D.J. is a great character. She's got an authentic voice and she's strong the way we, or at least I, would like to be strong. This is her third installment, and it's still pretty good. Bravo to CGM.
Synopsis: It's winter semester for D.J. She's back at school and just trying to stay in the background. Except everyone's on her case to be a basketball star.

Quotes:
"Everyone has this huge hangup about walking, like it's the most important thing you can do after you break your neck."

"I swear, every person I know gets far ore satisfaction from doing good deeds than receiving them. Maybe that's the whole point in the end, all of us putting up with good deeds, tolerating them as best we can, counting the minutes until we have the opportunity to reciprocate"

Questions:
Why do we all hope our first love will be our only true love?
Rate: 3 swooshes

Houghton Mifflin 2009

Ally Carter: Only the Good Spy Young

One Word Summary: Tombs of Blackthorn
More Words: ummm, the first book was really fun- before it turned into a series. It still is fun, which is why the seriousness is a strange mix. I'm feeling a little bored with paragraphs that begin "You may think x about spys, but you'd be wrong because you forgot we're teenagers and we're girls." What I think is: I'm gonna hafta quit these books before the story gets out of hand like the gilmore girls.

Rate: 2 spy kits

Carol Lynch Williams: The Chosen One

One Word Summary: Wrong
More Words: I can't say how wrong this is. I remember meeting a polygamist family as a missionary and not knowing what to say, but wanting to say- "you're wrong." Mostly I remember the man smiling at me. It was an irritating smile because it said there is nothing you can do to change this. I can't even remember the expressions of two women or their daughters. They're a blur. And then a few years ago there was a huge sexual abuse scandal in southern Utah, and so many children were taken into protective care. I wonder what's happening now?
Synopsis: Kyra is thirteen years old. She is the chosen to be the sixth wife of a sixty year old man, her uncle. He's holds a position of authority in the community and she cannot refuse him. Various methods of intimidation are used to coerce the child. Luckily or unluckily she escapes.

St Martins Griffen 2009