Friday, October 28, 2011
The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading
by Charity Tahmaseb & Darcy VanceWhat starts out as a sort of social experiment to test the fairness of cheerleading tryouts leads geek girls Bethany and Moni into entirely new territory when they find themselves members of the squad.
There are crushes on popular boys that seem to be coming to fruition, some acceptance among the popular clique girls, but also clashes with the worst of them, an ex-friend who resents not only the new status of these two rising stars, but also the attention they are getting from those most crushable boys.
Add in that Moni seems determined never to go back, going over so far into the world of the clique that it comes between the two girls, and Bethany is not too sure how this will ever end well.
Things work out, mostly, of course - this is, after all, a nice light read, but it also raises a few issues along the way, and I quite like Bethany, the main character. I'd recommend it as a somewhat meater bit of chicklit, definitely.
Labels: 2009, fluff, friendship, girly, growing up, love story, teen
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Does My Head Look Big in This?
by Randa Abdel-FattahAmal is a pretty average girl living in Australia, though she is pretty new at her snooty prep school, and it's a bit strange after being at a school that was rooted in the Muslim community for years. Despite wanting to blend in at McLean, she decides over the holidays to start wearing the hijab as a step farther into living her faith as a fuller part of her life. This is not met without resistance, let's just say...
Her parents, to begin with, are concerned about the opposition they fear she will encounter, and worry that it may hold her back because of how she will be perceived by others. Their worries aren't unfounded, and she does indeed encounter some nasty moments along the way. Her principal is not on board, to begin with, though her parents convince her to allow the addition to the school uniform.
Her own biggest worries come with her return to school and the dog-eat-dog social world of high school. For one thing, she is already a target of mean girl Tia and her friends. For another, she has a major crush on school cutie Adam. She has some rock-solid friends, but they do have some issues of their own that they are wrestling with, making Amal's struggles to fit in as an identifiably Muslim girl in a very white school only one of the issues that this book covers.
Amal is smart and sassy, and determined not to be defined or limited by people's perceptions. She sets out to inform the people who make clueless comments about the differences and similarities between Islam and other major religions, and to point out stereotypes and assumptions where they rear their ugly heads. She wins some people over this way - including Adam, who suddenly presents a new problem, when she realizes that what part of her wants, another part does not, for she is level-headed enough to remember that her religious beliefs about intimacy are more important to her than what her heart is telling her she wants with him.
In the end, the book sets out to expose and correct a lot of ignorant beliefs and assumptions, and does a fine job of it. The characters are likeable, and have the reader with them the whole way. And best of all, the author manages to make several good points, and make them strongly, without sacrificing any of the fun in this moving book about growing up Muslim in Australia to her message.
Labels: 2005, family, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, issues, set abroad, teen
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Moxy Maxwell, Procrastinator Extraordinaire
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank You Notes
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano
by Peggy Gifford
A coworker recently introduced me to Moxy Maxwell, who falls into that class of precocious young girl for roughly grade 2-3 readers that have been so popular, spawning Junie B., Clementine, and Judy Moody, and following in the august footsteps of Ramona Quimby. Thankfully, she reminds me more of Clementine, with her big ideas, than of Junie B., who can be a little obnoxious for my tastes.
The hook in each of these novels is that Moxy has a deadline for some task she really does not want to complete - laid out in the very descriptive titles. Instead of getting to it, Moxy procrastinates. She thinks up "easier, faster" ways of doing it, involving many other things that backfire. Or she has some other brilliant plan that is way to fantastic to put off in favour of what she ought to be doing.
It is perhaps not truly helping her that she has a small friend who is willing to do her bidding, no matter how ludicrous, as well as a younger sister who has been known to get involved. Her older brother is wise enough to stay out of the action, though he doesn't seem able to resist hanging around to see what will happen - and records everything in photographs sprinkled throughout the books.
Moxy's long-suffering mother really makes these books for me, with her dry, seeming-calm inquiries about what exactly has happened to create the mayhem that she has just discovered. For example:
"Was there a fire in your room?" her mother asked.
"A fire in my room?"
Was a fire in her room a good thing? Was a fire better than not reading Stuart Little?
"Not that I know of," said Moxy.
...
"Are you aware that you are swinging in a hammock and eating peaches and petting Rosie?" her mother said.
Because yes, Moxy was doing all those things after having destroyed her mother's garden and having not read Stuart Little, in fact.
This is the way things seem to happen around Moxy. for some reason, her big ideas go awry in a pretty spectacular fashion. And yes, it's a wild ride, but awfully funny.
A couple of things that makes these books a little difference is the narrator, who is outside of the action, and the photographs of the action, which add a fun comic twist. (I can't help but think how much fun they must have had staging those!)
This trio shows signs of expanding, and I will be picking up the next one, because these are a good laugh. In fact, I think I'm going to start reading one to my own little girl soon.
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Writing Thank You Notes
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano
by Peggy Gifford
A coworker recently introduced me to Moxy Maxwell, who falls into that class of precocious young girl for roughly grade 2-3 readers that have been so popular, spawning Junie B., Clementine, and Judy Moody, and following in the august footsteps of Ramona Quimby. Thankfully, she reminds me more of Clementine, with her big ideas, than of Junie B., who can be a little obnoxious for my tastes.
The hook in each of these novels is that Moxy has a deadline for some task she really does not want to complete - laid out in the very descriptive titles. Instead of getting to it, Moxy procrastinates. She thinks up "easier, faster" ways of doing it, involving many other things that backfire. Or she has some other brilliant plan that is way to fantastic to put off in favour of what she ought to be doing.
It is perhaps not truly helping her that she has a small friend who is willing to do her bidding, no matter how ludicrous, as well as a younger sister who has been known to get involved. Her older brother is wise enough to stay out of the action, though he doesn't seem able to resist hanging around to see what will happen - and records everything in photographs sprinkled throughout the books.
Moxy's long-suffering mother really makes these books for me, with her dry, seeming-calm inquiries about what exactly has happened to create the mayhem that she has just discovered. For example:
"Was there a fire in your room?" her mother asked.
"A fire in my room?"
Was a fire in her room a good thing? Was a fire better than not reading Stuart Little?
"Not that I know of," said Moxy.
...
"Are you aware that you are swinging in a hammock and eating peaches and petting Rosie?" her mother said.
Because yes, Moxy was doing all those things after having destroyed her mother's garden and having not read Stuart Little, in fact.
This is the way things seem to happen around Moxy. for some reason, her big ideas go awry in a pretty spectacular fashion. And yes, it's a wild ride, but awfully funny.
A couple of things that makes these books a little difference is the narrator, who is outside of the action, and the photographs of the action, which add a fun comic twist. (I can't help but think how much fun they must have had staging those!)
This trio shows signs of expanding, and I will be picking up the next one, because these are a good laugh. In fact, I think I'm going to start reading one to my own little girl soon.
Labels: early chapters, girly, good stuff, growing up, humour
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Case of the Peculiar Pink Fan
An Enola Holmes Mystery
By Nancy Springer
Enola Holmes is another series I am really enjoying, this one still full of action and suspense, but more girl-oriented, if not all that girly.
(Follow links for my reviews of books #1 and #2.)
Enola is the runaway younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, who would see her contained and cultured in a girls' school, much against her unconventional wishes. Instead, she is solving mysteries herself, and has rather a knack for it.
In this fourth installment, she runs into and thwarts both brothers in turn, even helping Sherlock and working with him a little, as he is on the same case as she. This causes her a little distress, as she finds herself softening toward him, and seems to think she perceives the same in him, which makes her wonder if it might be possible one day to reconcile, leaving her less alone.
This doesn't dull her acuity one bit, though, and she uses a combination of smarts and inside knowledge of the feminine world to help her save the day once again.
I am interested, though, to see how that relationship will develop a little further in the next book!
By Nancy Springer
Enola Holmes is another series I am really enjoying, this one still full of action and suspense, but more girl-oriented, if not all that girly.
(Follow links for my reviews of books #1 and #2.)
Enola is the runaway younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft, who would see her contained and cultured in a girls' school, much against her unconventional wishes. Instead, she is solving mysteries herself, and has rather a knack for it.
In this fourth installment, she runs into and thwarts both brothers in turn, even helping Sherlock and working with him a little, as he is on the same case as she. This causes her a little distress, as she finds herself softening toward him, and seems to think she perceives the same in him, which makes her wonder if it might be possible one day to reconcile, leaving her less alone.
This doesn't dull her acuity one bit, though, and she uses a combination of smarts and inside knowledge of the feminine world to help her save the day once again.
I am interested, though, to see how that relationship will develop a little further in the next book!
Labels: 2008, family, girly, good stuff, historical fiction, middle grades, suspense
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Publisher Review: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
by Louise Rennison.
And here it is. The tenth and final book in the confessions of Georgia Nicholson series.
The one where she finally figures out her boy situation, though not until the very, very, VERY end, after you, as a reader, have very nearly had a nervy b.
The one where she and her friends start to show mysterious signs of maybe edging towards the direction of maturing just a touch. (But not that much, don't be scared.)
My very favourite wait-for-the-next-one series for girly teens, the one that makes me laugh like a drain, as Georgia would put it.
I am, for all that I did indeed giggle and cackle my way through it and thoroughly enjoy it, unreasonably sad. Now where will I turn when I need to be wholeheartedly amused until it hurts? I may have to re-read these, and if you haven't read them at least once, I recommend you get started. You won't regret it a bit - only that it ends.
Meanwhile - Ms. Rennison? I do hope you are starting a new series?
(Check out some of this last book online if you don't believe it could be so funny - then come back and tell me I'm right.)
And here it is. The tenth and final book in the confessions of Georgia Nicholson series.
The one where she finally figures out her boy situation, though not until the very, very, VERY end, after you, as a reader, have very nearly had a nervy b.
The one where she and her friends start to show mysterious signs of maybe edging towards the direction of maturing just a touch. (But not that much, don't be scared.)
My very favourite wait-for-the-next-one series for girly teens, the one that makes me laugh like a drain, as Georgia would put it.
I am, for all that I did indeed giggle and cackle my way through it and thoroughly enjoy it, unreasonably sad. Now where will I turn when I need to be wholeheartedly amused until it hurts? I may have to re-read these, and if you haven't read them at least once, I recommend you get started. You won't regret it a bit - only that it ends.
Meanwhile - Ms. Rennison? I do hope you are starting a new series?
(Check out some of this last book online if you don't believe it could be so funny - then come back and tell me I'm right.)
Labels: 2009, fluff, friendship, girly, growing up, humour, love story, loved it, Publisher Reviews, teen
Stop, In the Name of Pants!
by Louise Rennison.
With this book, the series of the "Confessions of Georgia Nicholson" is at, to my delight, book #9. And while I was, around the end of book #8 (Love Is A Many Trousered Thing
) (my review here), starting to get a twist in my nicknacks about why she couldn't just get on with it and figure out that she and Dave the Laugh were perfect together, I have to admit that this one came back so funny that although I still wanted it to happen, I was enjoying the ride too much to have the hump about it, as Gee would say.
This time, things are heating up between her and Masimo, but she keeps finding Dave the Laugh hanging around in her brain for some reason, and she can tell it's getting to Masimo - at one point, she stops an almost-fight with the line in the title. (Nice work, kittykat.)
It's not resolved quite yet, all of this agony of luuuurve, but along the way, Rennison serves up more of Georgia's usual madness and hilarious self-absorption, as well as her equally berserk family and friends. (and cats, for that matter)
These remain the only books that I cannot allow myself to read in public, for fear of looking like a complete twit when I laugh to the point of hysterics - I nearly choked myself giggling over this at home one night. (My husband may be calling a psychiatrist for me behind my back.)
Now on to #10, just arrived...
(want a little taste of the mad, mad world of Georgia before you dive right in? Go check out this book here!)
With this book, the series of the "Confessions of Georgia Nicholson" is at, to my delight, book #9. And while I was, around the end of book #8 (Love Is A Many Trousered Thing
) (my review here), starting to get a twist in my nicknacks about why she couldn't just get on with it and figure out that she and Dave the Laugh were perfect together, I have to admit that this one came back so funny that although I still wanted it to happen, I was enjoying the ride too much to have the hump about it, as Gee would say.This time, things are heating up between her and Masimo, but she keeps finding Dave the Laugh hanging around in her brain for some reason, and she can tell it's getting to Masimo - at one point, she stops an almost-fight with the line in the title. (Nice work, kittykat.)
It's not resolved quite yet, all of this agony of luuuurve, but along the way, Rennison serves up more of Georgia's usual madness and hilarious self-absorption, as well as her equally berserk family and friends. (and cats, for that matter)
These remain the only books that I cannot allow myself to read in public, for fear of looking like a complete twit when I laugh to the point of hysterics - I nearly choked myself giggling over this at home one night. (My husband may be calling a psychiatrist for me behind my back.)
Now on to #10, just arrived...
(want a little taste of the mad, mad world of Georgia before you dive right in? Go check out this book here!)
Labels: 2008, fluff, friendship, girly, growing up, humour, love story, loved it, teen
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Author Review: Anatomy of a Boyfriend
by Daria Snadowsky. To be released in paperback in September.
Gotta love it when an author takes to the net to promote her own book, as this lady did, offering me a review copy of her teen novel of first love and loss. I'm glad, too, because for all that I love the cover (yeah, yeah, you do it, too), I may have passed it over as another fluffy teen chicklit book, which I've read lots of and find that while some are quite good, there are plenty that are, well, not so good. This book, while it does track the course of a romance, is not the same old formula, by any stretch.
What I most like about this is its straight take on the whole affair. Dominique wants to be a doctor, and has always been far too engrossed in studies and intellectual interests to notice boys all that much. She's a serious girl, unlike her friend, who is all about the fun with boys. Because of this curious, pragmatic personality, the fact that her voice is often frank and unflinching works really well to convey information about her sexual explorations as well as being able to discuss her emotions clearly.
Dominique, to be honest, is much like me as a teen, so I found her very relatable as a teen who is not a silly girl, but finds herself sometimes having to hold back to keep things going along at a pace that is is comfortable with, unwilling to completely give herself over to the rush of it, but unable to resist completely. She goes in with her eyes open and thinks about what she wants, which I like, but she isn't perfect and impervious to temptation, either. Neither a saint nor a slut, she treads a middle ground that I think will be familiar to teens and eye-opening but not alarming to parents.
I also really liked the writing of the sex and makeout scenes. It is free from cheesy euphemisms and other romance cliches, yet doesn't come across as clinicla, either. It is straight up, but perfectly evocative of how Danielle feels both physically and emotionally. I think it would actually be a really good book for a teen to read before they were involved in a relationship or considering any degree of physical exploration, as it really tells it like it is for an average teen.
I would highly recommend this for any teen.
Gotta love it when an author takes to the net to promote her own book, as this lady did, offering me a review copy of her teen novel of first love and loss. I'm glad, too, because for all that I love the cover (yeah, yeah, you do it, too), I may have passed it over as another fluffy teen chicklit book, which I've read lots of and find that while some are quite good, there are plenty that are, well, not so good. This book, while it does track the course of a romance, is not the same old formula, by any stretch.
What I most like about this is its straight take on the whole affair. Dominique wants to be a doctor, and has always been far too engrossed in studies and intellectual interests to notice boys all that much. She's a serious girl, unlike her friend, who is all about the fun with boys. Because of this curious, pragmatic personality, the fact that her voice is often frank and unflinching works really well to convey information about her sexual explorations as well as being able to discuss her emotions clearly.
Dominique, to be honest, is much like me as a teen, so I found her very relatable as a teen who is not a silly girl, but finds herself sometimes having to hold back to keep things going along at a pace that is is comfortable with, unwilling to completely give herself over to the rush of it, but unable to resist completely. She goes in with her eyes open and thinks about what she wants, which I like, but she isn't perfect and impervious to temptation, either. Neither a saint nor a slut, she treads a middle ground that I think will be familiar to teens and eye-opening but not alarming to parents.
I also really liked the writing of the sex and makeout scenes. It is free from cheesy euphemisms and other romance cliches, yet doesn't come across as clinicla, either. It is straight up, but perfectly evocative of how Danielle feels both physically and emotionally. I think it would actually be a really good book for a teen to read before they were involved in a relationship or considering any degree of physical exploration, as it really tells it like it is for an average teen.
I would highly recommend this for any teen.
Labels: 2007, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, love story, Publisher Reviews, teen
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Publisher Review: Confessions of a Serial Kisser
by Wendelin van Draanen. Knopf Books for Young Readers. Find more information about the title at the publisher's website, here.
Evangeline is looking for something, and she's not sure what until she trips on a romance novel of her mother's, and reads about crimson kisses. That is it, she thinks, she needs that passion. Reading a self-help book on living your dream makes her convinced that she should just go for it, and she does.
Add to that the fact that her mother seems to be willing to take back her father after a separation, while Evangeline is holding onto her anger, but feels like she can't talk to anyone about that. And the fact that her grades are slipping as she becomes preoccupied by everyone except school. It's beginning to get desparate, when she gets some help and support from a few directions, has an epiphany of her own, and begins to get things back on track. Somehow, the crimson kiss seems less important, and she finds herself looking for something more realisitc, but just as exciting in the end.
(First, a word about publisher reviews.)
Evangeline is looking for something, and she's not sure what until she trips on a romance novel of her mother's, and reads about crimson kisses. That is it, she thinks, she needs that passion. Reading a self-help book on living your dream makes her convinced that she should just go for it, and she does. She's not necessarily finding what she's after, though, and instead of finding passion and romance, finds herself in a mess. Her reputation is taking a hit, her best friend gets angry with her, and more than one of the guys she's tried out as a kisser is unthrilled with the aftermath. Now she has to try to figure out a way to clean up this mess, not to mention figure out what went wrong in the first place.
Add to that the fact that her mother seems to be willing to take back her father after a separation, while Evangeline is holding onto her anger, but feels like she can't talk to anyone about that. And the fact that her grades are slipping as she becomes preoccupied by everyone except school. It's beginning to get desparate, when she gets some help and support from a few directions, has an epiphany of her own, and begins to get things back on track. Somehow, the crimson kiss seems less important, and she finds herself looking for something more realisitc, but just as exciting in the end.
I was curious to see how van Draanen would do teen chicklit - I have enjoyed her middle grade Sammy Keyes mysteries and the novel Flipped, and thought she could do a character with a little more substance than the too-typical fluff-dwellers. She didn't disappoint - Evangeline has a strong base, even if she loses it for a while, and comes back to her senses in the end. She also has her own interests - van Draanen sprinkles the book liberally with references to blues rock, including bands and songs that she listens to, for she is a serious music lover. All of which make for a nice solid character and a message about being grounded and true to yourself that resonates without ever hammering to bring it home.
I really quite liked this one, both as a fun read and a fine example of the kind of girl you'd like other girls to see - fun, but sensible, cool, but smart. Good stuff, indeed.
Labels: 2008, family, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, love story, teen
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The Case of the Left-handed Lady
by Nancy Springer. An Enola Holmes mystery.
Enola has set up, since the first mystery, a reasonable semblance of an existance for herself, complete with a few different identities and associated disguises. Although set up as a "scientific perditorian," she is mostly concerned, at first anyhow, with keeping herself hidden and figuring out how much her brothers know about her whereabouts, as well as adapting herself to keeping safe on the dangerous streets of Victorian London. Her newfound passion for helping other disguised as a nun doesn't help any, as she performs this role at night, wandering among the slums.
Through the book, a strange series of events turn out to be related as she is drawn into the mystery of a missing girl, learns about some radical new political movements of the time, and set upon at night herself.
Parallel to this runs the continued avoidance of her brothers, complete with a trick message left by one to trap her, a bit of snooping on her part, and a direct run-in with the ever-so-sharp Sherlock Holmes. Thsi plot will clearly continue to push through any future volumes as well, and at the end of this book, she is determined to keep herself from their grasp, telling them via newspaper ad to 'rot.'
I like the blend of suspense from the two plotlines here, I like Enola's spunk and intelligence, and I especially like the high level of explanation as to Victorian customs that is done throughout, somehow without being overly intrusive. This is a great series for a girl who likes some adventure and some smarts in her reading, but won't leave the girlier girls behind, either.
Labels: 2007, family, girly, historical fiction, loved it, middle grades, siblings, suspense, teen
Monday, May 19, 2008
Publisher Review: A Great and Terrible Beauty
by Libba Bray. Reviewed for Random House. For more information on this title, see here.
(about publisher reviews on kittenpie reads)
Though largely set in Victorian England, this book open with Gemma chafing to leave her home in India and go to London. She is now 16, after all. Her journey to England is set in motion when a strange vision comes over her, and she sees her mother kill herself rather than be claimed by some mysterious creature while in the company of an unknown man. This shadow cast over her family, she is to go off to finishing school at Spence to be made marriageable. This is not quite what happens there, however.
Instead, Gemma learns more about the strange amulet her mother gave her, and about the visions she continues to have.It turns out that she is a conduit to another place, a centrepoint of the next generation of a group of women known as the Order who can access this land and the magic therein. It isn't all as beautiful as it looks, though, because there is a dark side, and someone known as Circe wants control.
As she learns more about the past from a diary, it seems that it is a hunger for power that caused things to go astray when the last generation of girls entered this other land, the Realms, and that they had been sealed to prevent Circe from crossing into our world. Which means that there is current danger of repeating history or allowing Circe to manipulate one of the girls in Gemma's circle by opening the portal again.
The ending does wrap things up fairly nicely, though there are sequels, which I appreciate. I don't love to be left hanging! I am curious about the sequels, though.
Although a substantial read at over 400 pages, the book moves along fairly quickly and drew me in enough that I read it in a few days, even as a slower reader. I loved the language in many places, and enjoyed that while it has a Victorian setting and some Victorian conventions, it moved faster than your average Victorian novel, and had enough rebellious sentiments among the girls to appeal to a modern girl's sensibility, particularly in the slightly naughty pranks and the horror at Pippa's being forced into a marriage with a much older and quite unappealing man.
All in all, I'm not surprised that this has been a big hit. It had a long holds list at the library for some time, and was much-requested in-branch, with lots of girls wanting to read it. It was one with great media push at the outset, as well, but unlike some books, I think this one has substance behind all of that. It's a great read for a teen girls, with its gothic and fantasy elements being well-handled, but not the whole story, and the characters being very strong and relateable.
Now off to reserve the next one in the set...
(about publisher reviews on kittenpie reads)
Though largely set in Victorian England, this book open with Gemma chafing to leave her home in India and go to London. She is now 16, after all. Her journey to England is set in motion when a strange vision comes over her, and she sees her mother kill herself rather than be claimed by some mysterious creature while in the company of an unknown man. This shadow cast over her family, she is to go off to finishing school at Spence to be made marriageable. This is not quite what happens there, however.Instead, Gemma learns more about the strange amulet her mother gave her, and about the visions she continues to have.It turns out that she is a conduit to another place, a centrepoint of the next generation of a group of women known as the Order who can access this land and the magic therein. It isn't all as beautiful as it looks, though, because there is a dark side, and someone known as Circe wants control.
As she learns more about the past from a diary, it seems that it is a hunger for power that caused things to go astray when the last generation of girls entered this other land, the Realms, and that they had been sealed to prevent Circe from crossing into our world. Which means that there is current danger of repeating history or allowing Circe to manipulate one of the girls in Gemma's circle by opening the portal again.
The ending does wrap things up fairly nicely, though there are sequels, which I appreciate. I don't love to be left hanging! I am curious about the sequels, though.
Although a substantial read at over 400 pages, the book moves along fairly quickly and drew me in enough that I read it in a few days, even as a slower reader. I loved the language in many places, and enjoyed that while it has a Victorian setting and some Victorian conventions, it moved faster than your average Victorian novel, and had enough rebellious sentiments among the girls to appeal to a modern girl's sensibility, particularly in the slightly naughty pranks and the horror at Pippa's being forced into a marriage with a much older and quite unappealing man.
All in all, I'm not surprised that this has been a big hit. It had a long holds list at the library for some time, and was much-requested in-branch, with lots of girls wanting to read it. It was one with great media push at the outset, as well, but unlike some books, I think this one has substance behind all of that. It's a great read for a teen girls, with its gothic and fantasy elements being well-handled, but not the whole story, and the characters being very strong and relateable.
Now off to reserve the next one in the set...
Labels: 2003, girly, good stuff, growing up, historical fiction, Publisher Reviews, suspense, teen, witches and wizards
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Love Is A Many-Trousered Thing
by Louise Rennison. Book #8 in the Georgia Nicolson series.
Oh my giddygodspajamas (as Georgia might say), how I love these. Truly, I can't read them in public because I tend to gigle, snort, and ocasionally howl, they are so damn funny. This last is no less ridiculous, with family madness continuing, a class camping trip looming, and not one but two potential boys to figure out?
How to choose between a Luuurve God who has said he is free for you and a Sex God who has returned from afar without notice or known reason? Ack! Yes, our girl Gee is stumped, and as such, acts like a crazy loon. As you do. (If you're Georgia.) And there's Dave the Laugh. Why does he keep popping up in her thoughts? He's just a mate. Right?
So yes, still funny after all these years, though I must admit - the bouncing back and forth between and not noticing Dave is starting to wear thin. I had figured this would be the book where she pulled him into the mix of her boy confusion, but no, it is more of the same, and she still has not figured that one out by the end. So while I continue to love them... She'd better at least add him to the list by next book, or I may just give up entirely.
Oh my giddygodspajamas (as Georgia might say), how I love these. Truly, I can't read them in public because I tend to gigle, snort, and ocasionally howl, they are so damn funny. This last is no less ridiculous, with family madness continuing, a class camping trip looming, and not one but two potential boys to figure out?
How to choose between a Luuurve God who has said he is free for you and a Sex God who has returned from afar without notice or known reason? Ack! Yes, our girl Gee is stumped, and as such, acts like a crazy loon. As you do. (If you're Georgia.) And there's Dave the Laugh. Why does he keep popping up in her thoughts? He's just a mate. Right?
So yes, still funny after all these years, though I must admit - the bouncing back and forth between and not noticing Dave is starting to wear thin. I had figured this would be the book where she pulled him into the mix of her boy confusion, but no, it is more of the same, and she still has not figured that one out by the end. So while I continue to love them... She'd better at least add him to the list by next book, or I may just give up entirely.
Labels: 2007, fluff, girly, good stuff, humour, love story, teen
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Publisher Review: Unicorn Races
by Stephen J. Brooks, ill. Linda Crockett. From Purple Sky Publishing, a small press from Missouri.
First: here's my promise about Publisher Reviews, reviews of books which, like this one, have been sent to me by the publisher for review.
Second: This book was suggested to me by the publisher as possibly fitting the category of Advanced Picture Book. Here's a little information about those in general and what they are.
This picture books announces from the sparkly-titled, purply-hued, puffy-textured front cover that it is a book for a girly girl. The inside pages, in illustration and in story, follow this through and won't disappoint the frilliest, most princess-and-unicorn obssessed of young ones.
I am, I will be honest, not a girly girl or particularly in love with overly girly stories, so my first reaction to this is not to b drawn in, but to approach with caution! Knowing this of myself, I decided to test this one on someone who is a girly girl - my daughter, Pumpkinpie, of nearly four years of age. And much as it is not what I would choose, it is now a nightly read because it is right up her alley.
The story is simple - a young girl sneaks out at bedtime in her finest princess garb, mounts a unicorn, and rides away to a magic clearing filled with fairies, elves, and unicorns, who will race in the moonlight. The princess decides the winner, and rides back to bed as the fairies begin a great goodie-laden feast. Whether this is dream or fantasy or real live magic is left unclear, and not addressed.
The illustrations are, thoughout, suffused with pink and purple and a sort of glow about the characters that suggests magic. They are, in some places, quite realistic, while in other places have a touch of impressionism about them. For someone like Pumpkinpie, who adores this sort of thing, they are quite lovely, in fact, although they are not, as I say, to my personal taste.
Although I had hoped this would be a more advanced picture book to be more in line with this site's usual age ranges, it was quite suitable for someone as young as three, like Pumpkinpie, as the content is quite gentle. I can see, though, that a girl of 7 or 8 who was reading early chapters with a girly bent such as the My Secret Unicorn series or any of a number of the fairy series available right now would love it. I certainly have plenty of girls in that older age bracket at the library still asking for slightly schlocky princess-y stuffthat makes me cringe a bit - and they would adore it!
This book is available through the publisher or from Amazon.
First: here's my promise about Publisher Reviews, reviews of books which, like this one, have been sent to me by the publisher for review.
Second: This book was suggested to me by the publisher as possibly fitting the category of Advanced Picture Book. Here's a little information about those in general and what they are.
This picture books announces from the sparkly-titled, purply-hued, puffy-textured front cover that it is a book for a girly girl. The inside pages, in illustration and in story, follow this through and won't disappoint the frilliest, most princess-and-unicorn obssessed of young ones.
I am, I will be honest, not a girly girl or particularly in love with overly girly stories, so my first reaction to this is not to b drawn in, but to approach with caution! Knowing this of myself, I decided to test this one on someone who is a girly girl - my daughter, Pumpkinpie, of nearly four years of age. And much as it is not what I would choose, it is now a nightly read because it is right up her alley.
The story is simple - a young girl sneaks out at bedtime in her finest princess garb, mounts a unicorn, and rides away to a magic clearing filled with fairies, elves, and unicorns, who will race in the moonlight. The princess decides the winner, and rides back to bed as the fairies begin a great goodie-laden feast. Whether this is dream or fantasy or real live magic is left unclear, and not addressed.
The illustrations are, thoughout, suffused with pink and purple and a sort of glow about the characters that suggests magic. They are, in some places, quite realistic, while in other places have a touch of impressionism about them. For someone like Pumpkinpie, who adores this sort of thing, they are quite lovely, in fact, although they are not, as I say, to my personal taste.
Although I had hoped this would be a more advanced picture book to be more in line with this site's usual age ranges, it was quite suitable for someone as young as three, like Pumpkinpie, as the content is quite gentle. I can see, though, that a girl of 7 or 8 who was reading early chapters with a girly bent such as the My Secret Unicorn series or any of a number of the fairy series available right now would love it. I certainly have plenty of girls in that older age bracket at the library still asking for slightly schlocky princess-y stuffthat makes me cringe a bit - and they would adore it!
This book is available through the publisher or from Amazon.
Labels: 2007, Advanced Picture Books, animal story, girly, Publisher Reviews
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Understood Betsy
by Dorothy Canfield.
Someone I know - maybe Mad Hatter Mommy, another children's librarian? - mentioned in an offhand way the book Understood Betsy, and that it had been an old classic they'd read and loved as a child. I had never heard of it! So I ordered it from another library branch, and dug in.
To my surprise - it was funny. It takes gleeful little pokes at the modern science of childrearing and at applying psychology to raising young people, it makes fun in a sly, tongue-in-cheek way that is not mean, but is unmistakeable. and predictably, when Betsy escapes this dreary, fear-inducing, crippling environment by mere happenstance and is sent to live with her "most dreadful" cousins on a Vermont farm? She flourishes under their no-nonsense but quietly loving ways, blossoming into a sturdy, sensible, fun-loving girl with ideas and a fierce heart of her own.
And when, at the end, she is to go back to her original guardian aunt, she is terribly sad, but determined not to hurt the aunt's feelings, she puts on a brave face. In the end, though, the aunt will be traveling with her new husband, and it is agreed to the secret delight of everyone, that Betsy should stay right where she is.
There is nothing in this old gem from 1917 that will come as much of a surprise - it all happens just as it should for a book like this, but the tale is captivating, quickly moving, and wryly humourous enough to be a true delight. Thanks to whomever happened to mention this one and pique my curiosity!
Someone I know - maybe Mad Hatter Mommy, another children's librarian? - mentioned in an offhand way the book Understood Betsy, and that it had been an old classic they'd read and loved as a child. I had never heard of it! So I ordered it from another library branch, and dug in.
To my surprise - it was funny. It takes gleeful little pokes at the modern science of childrearing and at applying psychology to raising young people, it makes fun in a sly, tongue-in-cheek way that is not mean, but is unmistakeable. and predictably, when Betsy escapes this dreary, fear-inducing, crippling environment by mere happenstance and is sent to live with her "most dreadful" cousins on a Vermont farm? She flourishes under their no-nonsense but quietly loving ways, blossoming into a sturdy, sensible, fun-loving girl with ideas and a fierce heart of her own.
And when, at the end, she is to go back to her original guardian aunt, she is terribly sad, but determined not to hurt the aunt's feelings, she puts on a brave face. In the end, though, the aunt will be traveling with her new husband, and it is agreed to the secret delight of everyone, that Betsy should stay right where she is.
There is nothing in this old gem from 1917 that will come as much of a surprise - it all happens just as it should for a book like this, but the tale is captivating, quickly moving, and wryly humourous enough to be a true delight. Thanks to whomever happened to mention this one and pique my curiosity!
Labels: family, girly, golden oldies, good stuff, growing up, middle grades
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Bad Tickets
by Kathleen O'Dell.
A coming of age book if ever there was one, this tale of Mary Margaret Hallinen's life-changing summer is set in the late 60's, during the draft and the era of drugs and sexual revolution. Could there be a time more suited to the whole notion of breaking out of the old, predefined ideas of your future and your behaviour and wanting to find a whole new way of doing things, all your own? It's almost too easy a device, but it works here, where she is finding her way while in tension between her parents' loveless shotgun wedding and the ensuing mess of Catholic children and her new best friend's wild, partying ways, including hanging out at a house full of hippies.
In the end, a bold act and a surprise twist teach her something about how to find something in between, and how even the boldest can find themselves going down a road that she never wanted. It's a good read, though it's a little scary to watch a young girl so out of control, but I like the way it balances the sides of the coin while it avoids being lesson-y.
A coming of age book if ever there was one, this tale of Mary Margaret Hallinen's life-changing summer is set in the late 60's, during the draft and the era of drugs and sexual revolution. Could there be a time more suited to the whole notion of breaking out of the old, predefined ideas of your future and your behaviour and wanting to find a whole new way of doing things, all your own? It's almost too easy a device, but it works here, where she is finding her way while in tension between her parents' loveless shotgun wedding and the ensuing mess of Catholic children and her new best friend's wild, partying ways, including hanging out at a house full of hippies.
In the end, a bold act and a surprise twist teach her something about how to find something in between, and how even the boldest can find themselves going down a road that she never wanted. It's a good read, though it's a little scary to watch a young girl so out of control, but I like the way it balances the sides of the coin while it avoids being lesson-y.
Labels: 2007, friendship, girly, good stuff, growing up, historical fiction, teen
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Once Upon a Curse
by E.D. Baker.
This girly fantasy revolves around a family curse that makes the girls in the family turn ugly and nasty when they touch a flower after their 16th birthday. This is a family of witches, so nasty is REALLY nasty. The youngest in the line is about to turn 16, and is betrothed to a boy she loves, but she is determined to end the curse or stay single so as not to put him through it.
So she pursues an answer, using magic, traveling back through time, and so on. Doing something with that answer when she returns is another story, because her aunt is making it difficult, not to mention throwing other wrenches in the birthday celebration that must be dealt with. She and her fiance work together and come a long way, but it looks like hope is lost until a surprise twist.
This took me a while to read, because it doesn't pull you along, the way some fantasy-type books do, with adventure. So although the character is a smart, strong young lady, and I like her relationship with Eadric, this was really just sort of lukewarm. A real fan of princess-y books might love it, though.
This girly fantasy revolves around a family curse that makes the girls in the family turn ugly and nasty when they touch a flower after their 16th birthday. This is a family of witches, so nasty is REALLY nasty. The youngest in the line is about to turn 16, and is betrothed to a boy she loves, but she is determined to end the curse or stay single so as not to put him through it.
So she pursues an answer, using magic, traveling back through time, and so on. Doing something with that answer when she returns is another story, because her aunt is making it difficult, not to mention throwing other wrenches in the birthday celebration that must be dealt with. She and her fiance work together and come a long way, but it looks like hope is lost until a surprise twist.
This took me a while to read, because it doesn't pull you along, the way some fantasy-type books do, with adventure. So although the character is a smart, strong young lady, and I like her relationship with Eadric, this was really just sort of lukewarm. A real fan of princess-y books might love it, though.
Labels: 2004, girly, lukewarm, slightly weird stuff, witches and wizards
Monday, November 19, 2007
The Mysterious Adventures of Pauline Bovary
by Edeet Ravel. Book two. (Book One reviewed here.)
The continuing adventures of Pauline continue in much the same vein, although she seems somewhat more sophisticated in her writing. Perhaps all her practice has paid off, not to mention the quotations she has sprinkled throughout this second novel at Zane Burbank III's advice...
Pauline loses her best friend Genevieve to the city, where she has gone to train for Olympic skating glory, and also loses her boyfriend to the folly of thinking another, newer boy was pretty exciting, if confusing. Her parents seem to find their feet post-divorce with new companions, which throw her off a bit, but by the end, things have settled, and she finds herself ready for new adventures, which she will be sure to write about in book three.
Fun, girly, fluff, quite charming still, but growing up some. Her involvement with boys remains pretty lightweight - she is, she says, too young for anything more than kissing yet. This is one of the things that keeps this a nice intro to chicklit for younger girls, while she also brings in touches from novels like Madame Bovary, which Pauline is reading while she lives and writes her own story. I would like to hope that that and the quotations might make some readers curious about some classic authors, too, which would be a nice touch.
The continuing adventures of Pauline continue in much the same vein, although she seems somewhat more sophisticated in her writing. Perhaps all her practice has paid off, not to mention the quotations she has sprinkled throughout this second novel at Zane Burbank III's advice...
Pauline loses her best friend Genevieve to the city, where she has gone to train for Olympic skating glory, and also loses her boyfriend to the folly of thinking another, newer boy was pretty exciting, if confusing. Her parents seem to find their feet post-divorce with new companions, which throw her off a bit, but by the end, things have settled, and she finds herself ready for new adventures, which she will be sure to write about in book three.
Fun, girly, fluff, quite charming still, but growing up some. Her involvement with boys remains pretty lightweight - she is, she says, too young for anything more than kissing yet. This is one of the things that keeps this a nice intro to chicklit for younger girls, while she also brings in touches from novels like Madame Bovary, which Pauline is reading while she lives and writes her own story. I would like to hope that that and the quotations might make some readers curious about some classic authors, too, which would be a nice touch.
Labels: 2007, Canadian, fluff, girly, good stuff, middle grades
Friday, November 16, 2007
The Thrilling Life of Pauline de Lammermoor
by Edeet Ravel.
Pauline is writing a novel, adhering closely to the advice of Zane Burbank III's book You Too Can Write a Great Novel! She is also in middle school in a mid-sized Ontario town, with a handful of good friends, an even better imagination, and newly divorced parents who provide lots of fodder for the trenchanct conflict she is trying to inject into the story at Zane's behest. What follows is a bit scattershot (but it is divided nicely into chapters that are not too long, contain plenty of dialogue, and try not to cover too many topics in each), and full of the charm of a girl of that age trying to tell a story while constantly interrupted and always having something else to say as things come up (it's so hard to avoid long tangents when you are 13!). Funny, sweet, still very innocent, and really, really cute. A great choice for girls looking to try something chicklit-ish in feel, but without lots of drama and mean girls and serious boy action. (She does develop a relationship, but one that grows slowly from friendship, and is not going anywhere quickly.)
Pauline is writing a novel, adhering closely to the advice of Zane Burbank III's book You Too Can Write a Great Novel! She is also in middle school in a mid-sized Ontario town, with a handful of good friends, an even better imagination, and newly divorced parents who provide lots of fodder for the trenchanct conflict she is trying to inject into the story at Zane's behest. What follows is a bit scattershot (but it is divided nicely into chapters that are not too long, contain plenty of dialogue, and try not to cover too many topics in each), and full of the charm of a girl of that age trying to tell a story while constantly interrupted and always having something else to say as things come up (it's so hard to avoid long tangents when you are 13!). Funny, sweet, still very innocent, and really, really cute. A great choice for girls looking to try something chicklit-ish in feel, but without lots of drama and mean girls and serious boy action. (She does develop a relationship, but one that grows slowly from friendship, and is not going anywhere quickly.)
Labels: 2007, Canadian, fluff, girly, middle grades
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Pants on Fire
by Meg Cabot.
Life is going along pretty well for this small town girl until Tommy Sullivan came back to town. She was dating the school's hottest football star (brother of a local hero), front-runner in the upcoming Quahog Princess pageant, and top of the class. But it wasn't really working for her. The pageant, she was into for the prize money so she could buy a professional camera. And, as she reasons, if she was so into Seth, she wouldn't be kissing Eric behind his back, right? She's up to her eyebrows in little lies meant to keep everything in balance, keep all the right facades in place. But Tommy's arrival blows everything to bits.
Tommy, who was run out of town four years ago after exposing a cheating scandal among the town beloved Quahog football team and forced them to forfeit the only state championship they hadn't won in some 16 years. Tommy, who had been sort of her friend, before insisting on going public with the scandal. Tommy, from whom she distanced herself in a big hurry to avoid becoming a pariah in the town. Tommy, who has returned tall and hot and just as smart as he ever was, and who apparently doesn't care any more about the town's Quahog obsession than he ever did. She is both drawn to him and terrified that he'll both ruin her carefully constructed social life and find out she was involved in spraypainting a slur about him on the gym wall (which remains, after 4 years). In the end, things blow apart in a way she wouldn't have predicted, but aren't as bad as she would have predicted, either.
This is slightly different fare for Cabot, but not by much. It retains that trademark fun Cabot voice, but is a little further from the Princess Diaries territory than many of her previous chicklit offerings. Good fun, fluffy stuff, as usual.
Life is going along pretty well for this small town girl until Tommy Sullivan came back to town. She was dating the school's hottest football star (brother of a local hero), front-runner in the upcoming Quahog Princess pageant, and top of the class. But it wasn't really working for her. The pageant, she was into for the prize money so she could buy a professional camera. And, as she reasons, if she was so into Seth, she wouldn't be kissing Eric behind his back, right? She's up to her eyebrows in little lies meant to keep everything in balance, keep all the right facades in place. But Tommy's arrival blows everything to bits.
Tommy, who was run out of town four years ago after exposing a cheating scandal among the town beloved Quahog football team and forced them to forfeit the only state championship they hadn't won in some 16 years. Tommy, who had been sort of her friend, before insisting on going public with the scandal. Tommy, from whom she distanced herself in a big hurry to avoid becoming a pariah in the town. Tommy, who has returned tall and hot and just as smart as he ever was, and who apparently doesn't care any more about the town's Quahog obsession than he ever did. She is both drawn to him and terrified that he'll both ruin her carefully constructed social life and find out she was involved in spraypainting a slur about him on the gym wall (which remains, after 4 years). In the end, things blow apart in a way she wouldn't have predicted, but aren't as bad as she would have predicted, either.
This is slightly different fare for Cabot, but not by much. It retains that trademark fun Cabot voice, but is a little further from the Princess Diaries territory than many of her previous chicklit offerings. Good fun, fluffy stuff, as usual.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Size 12 Is Not Fat
by Meg Cabot.
This is one that is really in the adutl collection, but I include it here for teens for a couple of reasons. One, Meg is primarily a teen writer, and the voice here is similar to her teen books. They will relate. Two, the character is just in her early twenties, having been a teen pop sensation and now working in a residence hall at the thinly disguised New York U. Again, an age group and setting entirely relatable for older teens. Finally, did you know that the Young Adult section at the library is actually aimed up to 25? Yep.
But about the book... So Heather wells used to be a bubble gummy pop singer, until she decided she wanted to sing different material and also started to put on a bit of weight. Now she's working at a residence hall so she can go to classes some day, since her mother took off with her savings and she's got not much to live on. luckily, her ex's brother (and her current crush) Copper lets her live in an extra apartment at his house near the university, so it's working for now. At least, things are relatively smoothe until two deaths at the residence hall seem related, and she's the only one who doesn't believe they are accidents. But when her own life starts looking like it's in danger too, she gets Cooper and a police detective involved.
So it's a mystery. And it's chicklit. And what's with the title? Well, Heather is a little defensive about now being a size 12 which, as she keeps pointing out, is not fat, it's the size of the average American woman, god! It's fun and fluffy and now there's a sequel which I will get to at some point, too, if you enjoy this one. And if you tend to like Meg's other work, you will.
This is one that is really in the adutl collection, but I include it here for teens for a couple of reasons. One, Meg is primarily a teen writer, and the voice here is similar to her teen books. They will relate. Two, the character is just in her early twenties, having been a teen pop sensation and now working in a residence hall at the thinly disguised New York U. Again, an age group and setting entirely relatable for older teens. Finally, did you know that the Young Adult section at the library is actually aimed up to 25? Yep.
But about the book... So Heather wells used to be a bubble gummy pop singer, until she decided she wanted to sing different material and also started to put on a bit of weight. Now she's working at a residence hall so she can go to classes some day, since her mother took off with her savings and she's got not much to live on. luckily, her ex's brother (and her current crush) Copper lets her live in an extra apartment at his house near the university, so it's working for now. At least, things are relatively smoothe until two deaths at the residence hall seem related, and she's the only one who doesn't believe they are accidents. But when her own life starts looking like it's in danger too, she gets Cooper and a police detective involved.
So it's a mystery. And it's chicklit. And what's with the title? Well, Heather is a little defensive about now being a size 12 which, as she keeps pointing out, is not fat, it's the size of the average American woman, god! It's fun and fluffy and now there's a sequel which I will get to at some point, too, if you enjoy this one. And if you tend to like Meg's other work, you will.
Labels: 2005, fluff, girly, good stuff, suspense, teen
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Teen Idol
by Meg Cabot.
Yup, it's another chicklit book by Meg. In the same voice as her Princess books and pretty much all of her teen chick books. But you know what? I like the voice. Maybe it's because I can relate to it - and everygirl voice, the voice of someone who feels kind of awkward, but isn't that badly off, the voice of someone who is neither popular nor unpopular. A voice I bet thousand of young girls can totally understand, because they hear it in their own heads, too. Sometimes it's nice to have company.
Anyhow, Jenny Greenley is the Girl Next Door. The Nice Girl. The Smoother Over of Problems. And she is entrusted with not only the anonymous school advice column, but also being the student guide for the undercover visit of movie star Luke Striker. Things go awry, but before he takes off, he tells her he thinks she could be more. Be less passive, and use her position as everybody's friend to make high school less vicious. In the end, it turns out he's at least as astute as she is, and shows her some things about herself. And of course, since this is chicklit and all, there's a boy and a happy ending for everybody. The end.
Yup, it's another chicklit book by Meg. In the same voice as her Princess books and pretty much all of her teen chick books. But you know what? I like the voice. Maybe it's because I can relate to it - and everygirl voice, the voice of someone who feels kind of awkward, but isn't that badly off, the voice of someone who is neither popular nor unpopular. A voice I bet thousand of young girls can totally understand, because they hear it in their own heads, too. Sometimes it's nice to have company.
Anyhow, Jenny Greenley is the Girl Next Door. The Nice Girl. The Smoother Over of Problems. And she is entrusted with not only the anonymous school advice column, but also being the student guide for the undercover visit of movie star Luke Striker. Things go awry, but before he takes off, he tells her he thinks she could be more. Be less passive, and use her position as everybody's friend to make high school less vicious. In the end, it turns out he's at least as astute as she is, and shows her some things about herself. And of course, since this is chicklit and all, there's a boy and a happy ending for everybody. The end.
Labels: 2004, fluff, girly, good stuff, love story, teen
