Cover to Cover

‘Monster’

Written by Jenni on June 3rd, 2010

martinez monster By: A. Lee Martinez
Genre: Sci Fi
Year: 2009

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Judy is minding her own business working the night shift when she finds a Yeti in the freezer section. As any level-headed person would do, she calls animal control. Eventually she is put on hold and transferred to the Cryptobiological Containment and Rescue Services. Soon after, Judy’s life changes in unexpected ways. She meets Monster, a freelance cryptobiological agent and his partner, a paper man who really exists in a different universe and works here for, basically, extra income. Monster knows about magic and magic creatures. Oh, and he changes colors (and magical abilities) every time he falls asleep or gets knocked out.

Most people can’t see magic. When something magical happens, their minds invent that something else easier to understand happened (sphinx? No, um, really it’s a bear). There is a percent of the population that can understand magic and see it for what it is, but will start to forget when they step away from the magical incident or person. Judy is one of those “light cognizant” people. Monster keeps getting job calls that bring him back to Judy. Soon, Monster begins encountering unusual cryptobiologicals in unexpected numbers. He doesn’t want to deal with them or Judy (he has a demon girlfriend at home and just wants to get some sleep—he works nights, you know), but reluctantly he does. Hey, a man can only deal with his house being destroyed so many times in one day. Unfortunately for Monster, there is something special and important about Judy and the universe has decided Monster needs to help her.

Martinez is the kind of author I love best: irreverent and funny. His characters aren’t perfect, they make bad decisions and in fact his main characters don’t get along with each other. Not in the “they hate each other but there is sexual tension there so eventually they will fall in love and have sex kind of way.” More in the, “I really don’t like you and will be so happy if you were gone. Or tuned into a cat” way.I like when plots don’t always have characters who get a long and Martinez doesn’t seem to take himself so seriously that his fiction will crumble under scrutiny (Dan Brown anyone?). I always find it refreshing to read authors who seem to really love what they’re doing and you feel that joy as a reader.

This is a chortle-out-loud book. The author has a quirky writing style and interesting characters. I always find it interesting when a science fiction/fantasy author adds magic and mythology to the world as a normal happening for some people but utterly ignored by most. When done right, it’s a joy to read (when done wrong, well, don’t get me started. Yes, I’m talking to you “Twilight.” Not because I’ve even read you but because you screwed with hundred’s of years of vampire lore. Walking in the day? Sparkling? WHAT?). This is a pretty easy, quick read, but not suitable for all ages (remember the demon girlfriend? She’s actually a succubus which is a sex demon). Great for a lazy, summer day!

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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My summer reading

Written by Jenni on May 28th, 2010

Class has finally ended. Life appears as if it will let me take a break for a little while. I have already broke out my library card and added some new books to my nightstand. But I thought I would let you get a sneak peak at some of the books I have planned for this summer. I originally put this list together for the student paper at the seminary I’m attending (Luther Seminary). I thought it would give you a sneak peek into what to look forward to. Don’t worry if you’re not interested in these books… I will be filling this list out with other reading (none of the books on my nightstand are from this list yet!).

Enjoy!

——–

The American Library Association recently released the top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2009. Challenged books are books that parents and organizations have requested be removed from school and public libraries. A challenge isn’t the same as getting the book banned. So in honor of these challenged books (and those that have actually been banned), I have decided to spend the summer adding banned and challenged books to my reading list. I’m not interested in all of the books on the list (I won’t read “Twilight” on principle), but I’m going to read several of them.

Here are my top books from the challenged list:

1. “ttyl (Talk to You Later—Internet Girls)” by Lauren Myracle: The entire book (and series) is written as a series of instant messages in text-speak. The story follows three high school sophomores, and best friends, and all the baggage that comes with that age. This book has been challenged because of nudity and sexually explicit and offensive language among other reasons.

2. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky: Charlie is a teenager writing letters to an unknown recipient. He writes about those things that go on in a teenager’s life, including the recent suicide of his best friend. This book has been challenged because of homosexuality, its religious viewpoint and its “anti-family” sentiments.

3. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee: Really? I read this book in high school, and it is one of my all-time favorites. It is told from the point of view of young Scout as she lives in the tension that comes in a segregated, racist Southern community as her father defends a black man accused of a terrible crime. It has been challenged because of offensive language and—yes, really—racism (of course it is! Read this book!).

4. “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler: Another book for teens following a 15-year-old girl dealing with first dates (and first base), body image, date rape and self-mutilation. You know, those things many teens today have to face. This book has been challenged because it’s sexually explicit and contains offensive language.

5. “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier: This book was originally written in 1974 and somehow I missed it. Student Jerry Renault does the unthinkable: He refuses to sell chocolate as a school fundraiser. This splits the school—some students think Jerry is a hero; others use him as a scapegoat for their own agenda. It has been challenged due to nudity as well as sexually explicit and offensive language.

And from the top banned books of the 20^th century:

6. “Fahrenheit 451″ by Ray Bradbury: Apparently that is the temperature at which paper burns. Bradbury writes of a time where firemen don’t put out fires—they burn books. What happens when one of those firemen starts hiding books in his own home? Eventually, he joins a band of scholars who memorize books waiting for the day when people will again read for new ideas.

7. “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger: Another book I missed in my youth. Sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield is expelled from prep school and spends two days in New York City. The story, recounted by Holden apparently after a breakdown, tells of his two days including sex, death and the compulsion to lie.

8. “Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel” by Kurt Vonnegut: Well, I’ve been checking Amazon.com for descriptions to summarize these books, and I honestly still don’t know what it’s about except that a man gets unstuck from time and aliens do something while that guy experiences his entire life at one time. Um, maybe that one will take awhile to read.

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‘Sad Cypress’

Written by Jenni on April 30th, 2010

SAD-CYPRESS_jpg_235x600_q95 By: Agatha Christie
Year: 1939
Genre: Mystery

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Elinor Carlisle is standing on trial for murder. The young Mary Gerrard—who worked for Elinor’s wealthy aunt—has been found dead and the only one with apparent motive and means is Elinor. Ah, but anyone who has read an Agatha Christie novel knows that what seems to be the truth isn’t always the obvious choice. Except when it is.

This is a great mystery. Of the many Christie books I’ve read, I haven’t read one quite like this. The novel bounces back-and-forth in time. Before the murder when Elinor and her fiancé visit their Aunt Laura (don’t worry, they’re not blood cousins) afraid she is being scammed for her money. After when Elinor is standing trial. Immediately after the murder. After Elinor is arrested and Poirot is brought in. Christie weaves this back-and-forth seamlessly without losing the point of the story or the thread of murder. The end was a surprise. As always, when I read a Christie novel, I see that she left clues for everyone to see, I just didn’t put them together until the end. I love when a book surprises me.

This was my second foray into a Hercule Poirot novel (of whom I’ve never been terribly fond). I really liked this story (much more than the first Poirot book I read). Poirot came into the case not sure of Elinor’s innocence. He agrees to the job with the understanding of his employer that if he finds out Elinor is guilty, he will not lie.

When Christie is at her best, she is a compelling author. This is a very compelling novel. “Sad Cypress” gives readers a glimpse into the life of the wealthy (Elinor lives in London, her aunt lives in the English countryside in a grand manor) in the 1930s. While other period pieces tend to, um, irritate me (I’m trying to read “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” but those rich English folk are just so whiney and entitled. The best part of that book? The zombies. I wish the zombies would eat everyone especially Elizabeth), I thought this was an interesting glimpse into it’s period. And it didn’t need zombies to make it better.

So, yes, I recommend you read this book. Heck, I recommend you read just about any Agatha Christie novel. She was such an amazing writer and wrote books that should still be clamored for today (like zombies looking for brains. Geeze, once I get zombies on the brain, well, uh, yeah…nevermind).

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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‘Dead Man’s Folly’

Written by Jenni on April 8th, 2010

Dead_Folly_jpg_235x600_q95 By: Agatha Christie
Year: 1956
Genre: Mystery

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I’ve always been an Agatha Christie fan. For years I’ve read her books, but I’ve always avoided Hercule Poirot books. I started to read one years ago and found him pompous and irritating. Perhaps I’ve softened because he wasn’t that bad in this book.

In “Dead Man’s Folly,” we find Poirot late in his career. He is requested to join a party at an estate. A mystery authoress is planning a special murder mystery event during the gala, but using that special sense that mystery authors seem to possess, she is sure a real murder is being planned and she is being manipulated. Once Poirot arrives, mystery ensues. and the enevitable murder. As with any good Christie novel, there are a dozen people staying at the manor and any of them could have motive and everyone had means. The twisty story is told from the point of view of Poirot and that of the inspector on the case. While both come across as quite capable, neither seems to be able to get over the hump that connects everything, though finally—with a result that is out of left field—they do.

This is not one of Christie’s best novels. I’m currently reading another Poirot story and it is sharper and not quite so convoluted so far. “Dead Man’s Folly” has a cast of a dozen characters and non of them are likable. The writing was crisp. The English country side beautiful, I’m sure. The people were upper-class and lived as such. But it just didn’t make sense. While the authoress had an idea she was being manipulated, it wasn’t explained what lead her to that conclusion or even why the manipulation was necessary (or how it was done). When Poirot does the big reveal at the end, he doesn’t explain why everything happened the way it did or what exactly led him to his resolution (really, it was just a handful of passing conversations and Poirot should have figured out earlier because he had those conversations weeks before he solves the case).

This book gets me ready to read other Christie novels of because she why she is much more of an amazing author than this book lets on. The anthology which I found “Dead Man’s Folly” contains five novels in total. The first was good, classic Christie (”Murder at the Vicarage) and the next one is setting out to be very interesting (well written so far).

Read other Agatha Christie novels before you read this (Have you ever read, “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”? I read it in college and WOW! You will NEVER see the end coming!). Then use this just as filler. Or not at all. She has so many better novels.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars (because it’s still Agatha Christie and it was still better than some of the junk I’ve read!)

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‘Meanwhile: Pick Any Path. 3,856 Story Possibilities.

Written by Jenni on March 27th, 2010

By: Jason Shiga
Year: 2010
Genre: Youth

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Chocolate or vanilla icecream? Your choice will determine the fate of your character “Meanwhile.” This is an utterly fascinating book. For those old enough to remember, it has the feel of a “Choose your own adventure” book but it was created as a comic book. As you make decisions, the story evolves. Each choice has a “pipe” you will follow through the panels of your story and eventually matches a tab on the edge of the pages. That tab will take you to another page, more story panels and eventually more choices.

The story is pretty simple: you will always end up meeting a professor in a lab (well, except for one, critical choice when you won’t). He has three inventions you can try: a time machine, a mind reading device and a probability box that doubles as a world-destroying box. So of course, as any good science fiction professor who puts invention before safety, he allows you to have free rein of the devices! Which do you try first? What do you decided to do with each invention? Can you destroy the world or alter the timeline of your own life (what do you think?)?

This is an amazing book. The story is quite simple but Shiga throws in some unexpected plot developments (you know, that destroying the world and altering the timeline thing). It’s also an addicting book. My son brought it home from school and left it on the kitchen table. Every time I walked by, I found that I kept picking it up and—not following any one story line—opening the book at random and following the story from the middle. I was just mesmerized by the intricacy that must have gone into planning this book visually and in production. The pipes and tabs must match up, and they match up on both sides of the pages so the tabs don’t just work on the right-hand page, but also on the left (meaning you don’t just read this book front-to-back, but also back-to-front).

Even though this is a book for teens, it’s great fun for any age (except maybe some elementary and younger readers… some of the themes are a little deep and dark). To be honest, this book more often than not leads to destruction. Or death. Or the collapsing of timelines. But it’s fun to see how many ways you can end the world. And if you do end up reading this, let me know if any of your choices gets you to the squid.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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‘Grave Secret’

Written by Jenni on March 19th, 2010

By: Charlaine Harris
Year: 2009
Genre: Mystery

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Harper Connelly can sense dead people. She can find them and then tell you the cause of death. She has been able to do this since the age of 15 when she was struck by lightning. What else is she to do but to offer her services around the country to help find bodies. Many people believe she is a fraud, but after her last case involving serial killers, law enforcement has a cautious belief in Harper’s abilities.

In “Grave Secret,” Harper is hired by a rich woman looking to find out the cause of her father’s death as a lark. So Harper travels with her brother (who is really her step brother. And that matters because they have now started sleeping together). But this job brings them close to the town they grew up in and all of the baggage that brings with it.

See, Harper and her siblings and step-siblings grew up with addict parents and barely survived those years. It culminated when Harper’s older sister disappeared. Try as they might, the kids couldn’t cover up their living situation after the disappearance and the children were all split up into foster and family care.

In the midst of a mystery that puts Harper and her brother Tolliver in danger and gets several other people killed, Tolliver’s dad gets out of jail and wants to make amends with his sons. Or does he? Harper doesn’t believe a word out of his mouth and hopes Tolliver doesn’t as well. All of these seemingly unrelated events come together in an ending I didn’t see coming (which is a hard thing to do!).

Charlaine Harris is also the vampire of the Southern Vampire series (Sookie Stackhouse, the basis for HBO’s “True Blood”). The Harper Connelly books are written in a more serious tone than the Sookie Stackhouse books and she does it well. In comparing the last two books by Harris, I believe this is the better book. It is well written and character driven. While Harper has supernatural abilities, Harris doesn’t rely on those abilities to move the story along, though her ability does play an important role in this story. Unlike the Sookie books, Harris isn’t balancing the weight of the mythology she has created, which seems to be a stumbling block with so many authors who have well-established characters (Yes, I’m talking to you Janet Evanovich and Patricia Cornwell and even Harris with her Sookie books). Harris obviously feels less constrained with this novel and that makes it a great read.

I was a little concerned with the ending of the book. Without giving anything away, the last chapter consists of a, “several months later, this is what happened” synopsis. It seemed like Harris was tying up the story with a nice bow. This gives the impression that she is showing us the end of the story as a way to end the series. I hope this isn’t true—it will be a real loss if Harris gives up Harper Connelly. Here’s to hoping she doesn’t!

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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‘Going Bovine’

Written by Jenni on March 13th, 2010

By: Libba Bray
Year: 2009
Genre: Teen

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Cameron is a 16-year-old slacker. His family—including a twin sister— is screwed up and don’t know Cameron spends a lot of his time high. Then he starts to have seizures and hallucinate. At first, he is sent to a variety of therapists, then a drug counselor until they finally realize Cameron’s problems are physical. He has Creutzfeldt-Jacob, better known as “mad cow disease.” And it’s uncurable. ”Going Bovine” follows Cameron as he goes on a journey to find a cure to the disease. A cure promised by an angel with pink wings and a wrist band for Cameron from Disneyworld which counts down the time he has to find a cure to the disease. His travels include alternate dimensions, snow globes, a Norse god trapped in the body of a yard gnome and a youth cult.

It’s pretty obvious early on what is really going on in the story, but I won’t give it away. The buzz on this book led me to have high expectations. I was disappointed. The writing is fine but it’s not great (and I found an editing inconsistency which just drives me crazy!). The story has it’s moments, but in general it’s too long and often times silly (not in a good way). Bray just drags the story on when she should be ending it and throws in crazy things that don’t make sense.

In this novel, Bray, who is an obvious woman, writes first-person as a 16-year-old boy. I normally don’t mind when an author of one gender writes as the opposite gender (I think Neil Gaiman did a wonderful job writing as a girl in “Coraline“). For some reason—and I can’t put my finger on what it was specifically—it really bothered me in this book. Maybe I felt like Bray wasn’t authentic writing as a teen-aged boy. Maybe I just disliked the book and was trying to find something to justify my dislike. But it just seemed…off. And ending? Yeah, I just said, “Huh” out loud and closed the book.

It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read. It wasn’t the worse written book I’ve ever read. But I just don’t believe it was worth the hype heaped on it.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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My apologies

Written by Jenni on March 12th, 2010

I want to apologize for the delay in my posting. I have read a few books in during this time, but I have had to take some time to myself because of my mother’s illness and death at the end of February. I have two reviews ready to be written and I will get them off as soon as I can. Thank you so much for your patience!

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‘The Devil’s Arithmetic’

Written by Jenni on February 15th, 2010

By: Jane Yolen
Year: 1988
Genre: Teen

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One day, I was looking at my daughter’s spelling list. The words were difficult so I asked my sweet little fourth grader about the list. It turns out, the words were from the book she is reading in school; a book called “The Devil’s Arithmetic.” With a name like that, I had to find out more.

Hannah (the main character, not my daughter), is a 12-year-old girl who is unwillingly going to her grandparent’s house for the Passover seder meal. It’s not cool and she doesn’t like these rituals that don’t really mean anything to her. She doesn’t like remembering things she doesn’t know. Hannah especially doesn’t like spending time with her grandfather. You see, when she was little, she used a pen to write numbers on her arm like the numbers her grandfather has on his. She thought it was something he’d like. Instead, he got angry and started yelling at her in Yiddish. No one has ever explained to Hannah what these numbers were for and why he was angry.

At the seder meal, Hannah is selected to open the door for the prophet Elijah. When she opens the door, Hannah expects to see the apartment across the hall. Instead, she finds herself transported to Poland during World War II. As a member of the Jewish community, Hannah is on her way to a wedding in another village when the villagers encounter the Nazis. All of the villagers are taken, via a terrible four-day train trip, to a concentration camp where Hannah eventually learns what the numbers mean and what her grandfather lived through.

Even though this book is for younger readers than I am, I couldn’t put it down. I read this book in one day last week and STILL find myself thinking about it. Yolen tells a moving story for younger readers (reviews I’ve read had all ages from late-elementary through high school having to read this book for school assignments) but I’m pretty sure adult readers would be moved as well. Yolen doesn’t pull any punches. The camps are not rainbows and butterflies. Children die. They are shamed and beaten. The fear is palpable and Hannah must try to survive. An especially difficult task since she paid attention in school and knows what is going to happen in the camps and to the Jewish prisoners.

This is a moving story and it is well written. Of course there are a lot of movies and literature—both fiction and non-fiction—around experiences from the Holocaust. This book doesn’t share a new story about Jewish experiences in concentration camps. But it is so well written and so well written for children and teens, that you can’t help but feel the horror and fear as Hannah experiences it. To me, that is the mark of an exceptional book. This book is a must-read and I’m trying to convince my other daughter to read this as well (We’ll see, so far she is waffling).

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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‘Odd and the Frost Giants’

Written by Jenni on February 4th, 2010

By: Neil Gaiman
Year: 2009
Genre: Children

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If you have ever read any of Neil Gaiman’s adult novels, you would know that he has a fondness for mixing mythology and modern times. In “American Gods” Gaiman weaves the story around the battle between old European gods brought to America by immigrants with the new American “gods” such as the internet, media and technology. In “Anansi Boys” the story follows a sensible British man dealing with the death of his father (who he finds to be the trickster character from African mythology). “Odd and the Frost Giants” brings that love of mythology to a younger audience.

Odd is a young Norse boy in the age of plundering Vikings (not the kind who lose the playoffs). His father has died and his mother—who was pillaged from a Viking trek by Odd’s father—has remarried a man who doesn’t like Odd. Odd himself broke his leg when he was younger and has trouble walking. In the midst of a winter that has gone on far too long, Odd leaves home. What he finds are a bear, eagle and fox who claim to be Norse gods who have been thrown out of Asgard by the Frost Giants who keep the world in perpetual winter. Odd decides to come to their aid and get them home.

This is a very short book. Much shorter than Gaiman’s previous children’s novels “Coraline” and “The Graveyard Book” and not nearly as dark or creepy. It is well written and interesting. It’s just very short. It was originally written for Wold Book Day in the UK in which authors write a book for free, publishers publish the book for free and those new books are sold for £1 tokens which the children are given for free (Gaiman writes about it here. Wish they’d do something like that in America!). This book wasn’t originally available in the US. Thankfully, it is now. While I certainly paid more than a few dollars for this book ($10 through Amazon.com), it is a beautiful, hardcover edition with illustrations.

Right now, one of my nine-year-old daughters has taken the book to read and I believe she will like this a lot. There isn’t anything too graphic in this story (heck, the book is too short for that!) and while Odd’s mother was indeed pillaged, there are no violent specifics of what pillaging really was. If you’re children have read “Coraline” or “The Graveyard Book,” then “Odd and the Frost Giants” will be a piece of cake.

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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...A glimpse into the books I read