Creepy Reads

I finished two books last week for two work  book clubs. They were both appropriately creepy for the season.

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

Laini Taylor was inspired to write these three short stories by "The Goblin Market" by Christina Rossetti.  The first story is about a girl who longs to be wanted and that longing attracts a goblin's attention.  The second is about a girl cursed into silence which is only challenged by first love.  The third is a complex story told in a non-linear way about a woman running from her past and her daughter trying to find out who she is.  These stories are spooky and creepy and I love them.  I can see why this was a National Book Award finalist.  Jim Di Bartolo, Laini's husband, illustrated this book beautifully.  I posted a picture of the hardcover with his art gracing the cover.  The newer paperback edition has a different cover which I do not like.  I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys dark  faerie stories.







Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

A menacing carnival comes to an Illinois town and 14 year olds Will & Jim try to fight the main baddie, owner Mr. Dark.  While Will & Jim may be the main characters, Will's dad, the janitor at the public library, is really the heart of the story.  I love Fahrenheit 451 so I expected to love this.  I did not.  I liked it, but no love.  It can get pretty wordy at times.  There was something about the writing in this book that made me think Stephen King read it as a young boy and it influenced him.  I read that Dandelion Wine takes place in the same town as this book and it makes me want to read it to see the differences.

Angel: Immortality for Dummies

I'm not as much a fan of the Angel graphic novels as I am the Buffys.  I also find the series numbering confusing.  The first four are all volumes of Angel: After the Fall, which was one large story arc.  Volume five was a new story arc called Angel: Aftermath.  Then came Angel: Last Angel in Hell, which was labeled volume 6.  Now suddenly this is volume 1.  I feel like IDW should have either made this volume 7 or made volume 5 a volume 1 since it was a new story arc.  Whatever, I only have two more Angel graphic novles in this particular IDW series left so it will no longer drive me bonkers!

This volume begins with Angel missing and Team Angel does not know whether he is in hiding from his new found fame or if something is wrong.  I feel very meh about this book.  I like the bits with Angel and I like the promise of the new character that is presented.  There is a lot of Connor in this book and he is not my favorite character.  I also don't think Spike sounded very Spike like.  I like him much better in his mini-series which was published after this.  The first four volumes, which were scripted by Saint Joss, are my favorites.  I purchased volume five only because it was 50% off.  I'm glad I've been getting these through the library, especially since they are only available in hardcover.  I think it would take a big sale for me to succumb to my fandom OCD and buy this book.

I am counting this toward the RIP Reading Challenge.

Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams

Tara is a former criminal profiler, current recluse, who used her skills with a deck of Tarot cards to help catch killers. Unfortunately, one serial killer caught her, leaving her scarred and not so keen on being around people. An old family friend, who is part of a secret society of women, tracks her down and asks her to help find a missing scientist. This is pretty cool urban fantasy because it also throws in science, secret military facilities, a government conspiracy, and a charming Agent Harry Li. I will definitely read the second book in this series, Rogue Oracle. Alayna Williams is a pseudonym used by Laura Bickle. Go to her website here. I've met Laura / Alayna a couple times and she's super nice and encouraging to aspiring authors.

I love the blog Forever YA and they often cast actors in the main roles of books they review. When I was reading this I couldn't help but picture a couple actors as characters.

Rose McGowan as Tara Sheridan - Maybe it's all the Charmed I watched this spring. I've liked Rose since I was in high school and saw Scream.

John Cho as Agent Harry Li - He's Harold, he's Sulu, and he's awesome! He also guest starred in a season one episode of Charmed. Huh!

Great Graphic Novels!

I've read several graphic novles so far this year.



Batgirl 1: Batgirl Rising



I'm a huge Batgirl fan (hello, librarian!). This was the first Batgirl I've read where Batgirl wasn't Barbara Gordon, which is bad because Stephanie Brown is not Barbara's immediate predecessor. Barbara is in it though as Oracle, guiding the newest Batgirl. This is part of the Batman Reborn event (should I call it an event?) so Batman is not Bruce Wayne. I liked it well enough to read volume 2 when it comes out. I should read the actual Batman books from this series too so I can have a better understanding of the background story.



Wizards of Mickey Volume 1: Mouse Magic

I saw the newest issue reviewed on tfaw.com and thought I'd check out the trades. Mickey is a wizard who is supposed to guard a magical stone for his village. He loses it and follows the wizard who tricked it away from him to a wizarding tournament. There he meets Goofy and Donald. This was adorable and I might buy it for my nephew.







Angel: Blood and Trenches

This story shows one of the many things Angel, of the tv series, did during World War II. It was done in black and white except for the blood, which was obviously red. I didn't love the artwork. For me, it didn't look like amazing black and white work, it looked like concept art. The story was okay enough, but I didn't like it enough to want to purchase it for my collection of Whedonverse comics & graphic novels.






Astonishing X-Men Volume 4: Unstoppable

I'm a Whedon fangirl at heart. The combination of Whedon and X-Men makes me happy. His entire run on Astonishing X-men has both his witty dialogue and that one gut wrenching moment that reminds you tat he is not all fun and games. I'm planning on reading volume 5, even though volume 4 contains the end of Joss's run.

5 Favorite Teens Books Read in 2010

In no particular order

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

One Will Grayson tries to live a life of apathy despite the efforts of his exuberant best friend, Tiny Cooper. Another Will Grayson lives across town dealing with first love. I started this book because I love John Green. I

love this book because of Tiny Cooper.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett receives a high maintnance guest to care for at her parents' historic hotel on her fifteenth birthday. I want to visit New York and stay at the Hopewell.

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

Leslie tries to reclaim her life and her body by getting a tattoo. Instead, she unwittingly gives herself up to dark faeries. Unfortunately for the faeries, Leslie is used to fighting for herself. This story is dark and bittersweet. Melissa Marr's books are a nice change of pace from the typical paranormal books that lean more toward romance.

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

When Aura loses her boyfriend on his birthday, she gains an intense relationship with his spirit. This book had a great balance of world building and plot. I cannot wait for the sequel.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Dash discovers a notebook in a book shop containing instructions. In choosing to follow the instructions he enters into a relationship of words with Lily. Will their expectations of each other be met when they finally meet? I was charmed by this book from the beginning.

5 Favorite Adult Novels Read in 2010, In No Particular Order

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

Annie is in a relationship with Duncan a music snob, especially when it concerns reclusive singer Tucker Crowe. When her relationship with Duncan starts to crumble Annie starts to form a life of her own and oddly enough stumbles into an e-mail correspondence with Tucker. I'm looking forward to reading more of Nick Hornby's books.

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz

Isabelle Spellman narrates the adventures of her kooky family of private investigators. This is for fans of Harriet the Spy or Veronica Mars.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Flavia de luce is a precocious 11 year old growing up in a small English village in 1950. Early one morning she finds a body in the cucmber patch and makes it mission to solve the murder.

Push by Sapphire

This is an inspirational story about the importance of literacy and education. Before I started reading I assumed the focus of the story was abuse. I love the first person narrative because you experience first hand the improvement in Precious's grammar, writing, and sense of self.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This book was from the "Yes I have a degree in English and no I haven't read it" list. I love this book. I read slowly because I wanted to spend as much time in Maycomb as possible. From now on I will go forth and preach the gospel of Harper Lee.

A Couple of Really Good Books

I'll start with the one I finished tonight. The bff lent me The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey last year but due to the great reading ADD of 2009 I just finished it. I love this woman's writing. This is the first book in her series on elementals. Each book is based on a fairy tale (yay) and this one is based on Beauty and the Beast (YAY!). Rose is an orphan whose father left her with no money. Plus she is a scholarly woman with IDEAS which makes her more unmarriageable than being poor. She receives a post as a governess in San Francisco but arrives to find there are NO children, just a mysterious employer named Jason Cameron who has her translating strange ancient texts through a speaking tube because of his "disfiguring accident." He messed with Magick he shouldn't have and is part wolf. There's intrigue and a horrible, morally corrupt, smarmy assistant and falling in love.

The other great book I finished a few weeks ago is Soulless by Gail Carriger. It's the first book in the new Parasol Protectorate series. It's historical / paranormal / tough kick butt girl / werewolf / vampire / steampunk and I need more! The world building is pretty thorough so I don't want to spill it all here.

Bizenghast Volume 5 by M. Alice LeGrow

It had been so long since I read volume four of Bizenghast there was a HUGE plot point that I had forgotten about. Luckily, the reader is reminded of it quickly. Dinah deal with more vaults in the mausoleum but has trouble completing her tasks because of her grief. The first thing that drew me to this manga series was the art over the story, and I still like the art more than the plot. But on the other hand my favorite character would have to be Edaniel, drawn in such a sketchy fashion without a ton of detail. I recommend this series for teens who like Tim Burton movies.

I'm the Vampire, That's Why by Michele Bardsley

I don't typically read two vampire romantic comedies back to back, but this had been on the pile for a few weeks so I gave it a shot. Single mom Katie takes out the trash one night, gets attacked, and wakes up a vampire. A paranormal group called The Consortium turned Katie, and ten other single parents in her small town, after they had been attacked by a vampire with some sort of supernatural plague. The Consortium is working on a cure for the plague and buying up Katie's town in order to set up a community where creatures of the night can safely reside. Aside from dealing with her new lifestyle, Katie is also dealing with a hot vampire named Patrick who claims they are soulmates.
This story was cute. This doesn't seem like a series that will get boring because each volume focuses on a different recently turned vamp. I am looking forward to reading book two.

Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson

There is something I love about the Queen Betsy series. MaryJanice Davidson has a knack for snappy dialog. This is the seventh book in the series and I still haven't gotten tired of the characters. This one wasn't my favorite but I still liked it. Garret, former fiend, has been feeding the still rapid fiends his blood and they have awoken and are more coherent. Of course, this means they're mad at Betsy for not helping them sooner. The excuse of "but we didn't kill you" doesn't work with them. The other issue in the book has to do with random deaths that detective Nick wants Betsy's help with. I read the book so fast I don't recall a whole lot about that. The plot was lacking, but it's a fun read nevertheless. I don't care too much for the new cover design. I read that they changed because the cartoonish cover was on a lot more paranormal romance and this was the perfect time to change covers since book six wrapped up the first story arc and this is the beginning of a three book story arc. When I see those cartoonish covers though, MJD is the first person I think of. I can understand why they wanted a change, but I do not think this cover reflects Betsy at all. She would never wear a bat necklace like that! She's miss designer shoes and can be somewhat prissy when it comes to her looks. Maybe the next cover will be better!

Debbie Harry Sings in French by Meagan Brothers

I love music so when a character focuses on music it appeals to me. And Johnny loves music. He loves music before he discovers Debbie Harry. When he hears Debbie while in rehab, his allegiance turns to Blondie. This musical turning point is also a turning point in Johnny's life. When he gets out of rehab, his mom, who was a hot mess for years that Johnny took care of, tells him he needs a positive male influence in his life and she's sending him out of state to live with his uncle. I felt betrayed along with Johnny when his sanctimonious mother sent him away. This story is more about Johnny's move or his love of music. It also deals with gender identity in an interesting way. I couldn't wait to give this book to the kids who loved other "issue" novels that featured music such as Heavy Metal and You and Candy. This is Meagan Brother's first novel and I am interested to see what she writes about next.

The Book Review Update of Doom!

I am a horrible blogger. C'est la vie! Here is an update of what I read in June.
Novels:
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare - I love this series hardcore. It is urban fantasy at its best. The tension between Clary and Jace is explored well. I can't wait for book three, or the follow up series that follows Shadowhunters in Victorian England! She mentions it on her blog.

Vampire Diaries Volume 1 by L. J. Smith - These are the first two books of Vampire Diaries, originally printed in the 90s, published in one volume. I'm glad Brenna kept telling me to read these. They are so fun, and the very end was great. If you read horror/thriller type teen books in the 90s (Richie Cusik, Caroline B. Cooney, R. L. Stine, etc) this will make you nostalgic.

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway - Any music geek must read this book about Audrey's rise to fame as the subject of a breakout rock song. I wonder if Delilah has had as many problems as Audrey?

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher - I could not put this book down. It puts into perspective the consequences of gossip and rumors. Everyone should read it.

Dance With a Vampire by Ellen Schreiber - The fourth vampire kisses book is as fun as the first three.

Manga:
Death Note volumes 9 - 12 - This series is nuts! I love it.

Afterschool Nightmare volume 7 - This is one of my favorite manga series of all time. Read it!

I'll try to keep up from now on :)

Playing the Field by Phil Bildner

Darcy loves baseball. Three seasons playing softball for her high school has not been satisfying so she asks to tryout for the boys' baseball team. After initially being told no, the principal changes his mind after his son tells him Darcy is a lesbian. Darcy is so excited about being on the team that she decides not to tell the principal that she actually is straight.

So much is happening in this book aside from a closeted heterosexual girl learning firsthand what it's like for gay students at her school. Darcy's mom and the principal are dating, she's got a crush on the principal's son, her ex-best friend is president of the gay straight alliance and threatening to out her at any moment. So many of these details that would be the Issues in some teen Issue novels are merely background that don't get a full exploration. I think if they had, the book might have felt bogged down. Since they weren't, it was simply a quick read that I enjoyed.

For Ya Challenge

Haunted by Meg Cabot

Haunted is book five in Meg Cabot's Mediator series. Suze is beginning eleventh grade and is not pleased that Paul Slater, who gave her many problems in book four, Darkest Hour, is now attending her school. And even though she and her ghostly crush Jesse have finally kissed, nothing has happened between them since. Add a ghost who believes his brother should have died instead of him and you have another fun installment in the series. I like to give this to fans of Buffy. Suze is a smart mouthed butt kicker. The mix of light chick lit and supernatural plots are a great way to get readers to try something outside of their typical genre.
I am counting this as my second YA Challenge books.

Derby Girl by Shauna Cross

I double checked the Thoughts of Joy blog and we are allowed to change our books for the YA challenge. So I am.
My first will be Derby Girl. Bliss is the perfect name for a Texas pageant girl. Too bad Bliss is more interested in punk rock and vintage clothes than tiaras and evening gowns. She can't bring herself to tell her parents about the roller derby league she joins in Austin and begins leading a double life: by day she may be Bliss, but by night she is Babe Ruthless. Her mom, a former pageant queen herself, has her heart set on Bliss being the third generation Miss Bluebonnet. This is a fun little book. It's great for alterna-teens. I think there is enough band name dropping to also satisfy the music obsessed.