YA Wednesday: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


4.5 stars

I saw this book in a classroom library about 5 years ago, and I've wanted to read it ever since. I should have gotten to it sooner--this book rocks.

Some people have complained that this book wasn't feminist enough, but since I didn't go into it with any inklings of it being a feminist novel, that didn't bother me. It's about a 15-year-old girl who is just now beginning to realize that life isn't fair--because she's a girl. She's not a feminist. She's only beginning to be bothered by life's double standards, by the guy's-only exclusivity of her school. She has barely begun to think of these things, so how can she be a feminist?

Frankie is in love with a guy, although their relationship never feels very deep to me. Maybe it's because of all the secrecy that keeps them apart, as he's a member of the secret (male-only, of course) society on their elite boarding school campus. Frankie hates the secrecy, and the doors that are closed to her in all areas of her life, but most of all, that she can't become a member of this society and become even closer to her boyfriend, to share everything with him. Does this sound feminist?

I thought Frankie was clever and a fun protagonist to go along with. Sure, she's a bit nuts, and a bit of a stalker, but still, she was fun. I don't think this book should be some kind of guide for feminist thinking or anything, but I do think the author did a good job in showing the double standards of society, of pointing out that kind of exclusive thinking and how unfair it is. I think she does a good job of showing how it feels to be in this minority party, to show how it can drive a person nuts that they can't do anything about it.

I loved Frankie's antics, but I think if this was a feminist novel, she would have wanted to start her own club for girls, which I kept waiting for, but it never happened. Also, I think our protagonist would have had to have a better reason for wanting to join the boys than wanting to impress her boyfriend's friends and get closer to him. She would have had to be a better friend to her roommate, and the other female characters would have been better developed. Thinking of this book as some kind of intro to feminism is probably not a good idea. Thinking of it as an excellent read with a fun, engaging protagonist and a fast-paced plot, along with a bit of an examination of the unfairness women face every day in things as inconsequential as high-school bonding rituals makes for one of the most unputdownable books I've read this year. For a while, I've been running across big disappointments in the contemporary YA section. I've been waiting for a book that would suck me in and not let go, and this was the one.

Rating: 10+ No cursing, very mild sexual situations (think kissing), and no violence.




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YA Wednesday: Graphic Novel Review: Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Last week I posted about the Printz Award Nominatee Boxers. This week, I'm posting about the second book in the series, Saints. I believe they were nominated together as one volume. To see last week's review, click here.

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've been on a graphic novel kick lately, so I grabbed this in an armload of them from the library. I saw it was nominated for a Printz award, which made me take it out of the stack and read it first.

It was pretty good, but nothing exceptional. For one, the graphics aren't as lovely as many of the graphics I've read. If I'm going to read a graphic novel, I want to be as captivated by the illustrations as the story. Otherwise, why not just read a novel? I didn't feel this was enhanced in any way by being a graphic novel. In fact, I'd rather read a novella about this supposedly based-in-history girl.

I did like the story quite well. Four-Girl was such a sad, confused child. I felt for her and was glad she finally got a name and found a place where she was welcome. It was so sad and amusing when she thinks she's a devil and goes around making ugly faces so everyone will know. It was at once tragic and ridiculous. I'm going to read the companion novel, but I can't say I'm holding my breath waiting for it.



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YA Wednesday: Graphic Novel Review: Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I picked up both Boxers and Saints at the same time, and I couldn't tell which came first, so I guess I read them in the wrong order. But, they are each stand-alone books, and I don't think one necessarily needs to be read first. However, this book did clarify a lot that I didn't know in the second, so I would try to read this one first. While reading Saints, I didn't know exactly who The Righteous and Harmonious Fist was, etc (my knowledge of Chinese history being pretty much nonexistent).
I really enjoyed learning about the Boxers rebellion, although the book was more fantasy than history. I found myself wondering if people had given accounts of the fighters turning into gods, or where the idea came from. However, the graphics in this one were more enjoyable for me. I've read 3 of Yang's books now, and although they have good stories, I feel that a graphic novel should be equally strong in both story and graphics, or else why not just write a novel? I guess I feel that if a writer uses this format, the illustrations should add to the story, and in the case of this author, this is the first book I thought his story lent itself well to the format.

I enjoyed this book more than the other 2 I've read by this author, and I think the reason is the illustrations. The gods were all vivid and colorful, and those places in particular were enhanced by the artwork (if you told me 'then he turned into a god' I would not have imagined the colorful, striking images of their gods but a more austere, western version of god).

Overall, this was a very good graphic novel and an excellent story.

Content: lots of war violence.
Recommended for: Age 10+ for violent scenes.



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YA Wednesday: 2 for 1 Graphic Novel Book Review: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book...it had the thing. You know, the THING. The thing that makes you all swoony while you're reading. That makes you sigh just remembering it, like an amazing first kiss that still makes you shiver when you think of it years later. The thing that makes you fall in love.

I had seen the movie version of this book a few years ago and it was excellent (if you haven't seen it, go get it immediately), and I'd wanted to read the books ever since. Well, I'm so glad I did. I was not disappointed. It's only rarely that I can love a book and a movie both so much, equally. This book is worthy of attention and not to be missed. Absolutely powerful, brilliant, and stunning.



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Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I don't know if it's possible, but I may have loved this book even more than the first one. Such a wonderful, heartbreaking example of what it means to be an outsider.

Displaced from her homeland, our heroine never feels at home in Austria. But after spending years there, when she goes home, she no longer fits into their conservative culture, either. I ached for her as I read this half of her story, maybe even more so than when I read the first part.

Amazing story that everyone should read. Recommended for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider.



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YA Wednesday: Blankets by Craig Thompson (Graphic Novel #Review)

Blankets by Craig Thompson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I fell in love with this book from page one. The illustrations and the story were equally gripping. From the start, I couldn't wait to hear about the relationship between the brothers, and later on, when the book begins to focus on the romance, I kept reading for the glimpses of memory of Craig and his brother.

While this is ultimately a romance, and the relationship between the characters is sweet and realistic, the romance did not hold the same interest for me as the brotherly relationship. I did enjoy the romance, though, or I could not have liked this book, which is, at heart, a romance about first love and coming-of-age, written in memoir form. Most of the graphic novels I've read have focused more on historical/cultural issues, but this one was wonderful despite its narrow scope.

It is thick for a graphic novel, but a quick read. I breezed through a hundred pages in a sitting easily. I did get a bit distracted once it got deep into the romance, because that never holds my interest, no matter how beautifully drawn and realistic Raina may be. That said, I did find her to be a wonderfully real, well-rounded character. I felt like she was someone I could have known in real life, and I loved the sweet, realistic course of their doomed first-love relationship.

Even though the book sort of wrapped up some of the issues from throughout the story, it felt somehow incomplete to me. I was happy that Craig and his brother were able to become, at least a bit, a part of each other's lives, as I waited for glimpses of the brother throughout the story.

Overall, a wonderful story with lovely illustrations that I would recommend to those 16+.



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YA Wednesday: If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was another book where I didn't read any kind of synopsis before starting it. So, I didn't even know what it was about. When they got in a car wreck, it was so sudden and unexpected I had to back up and go, "WHAT!"

Then I kept going, and I was wondering if this was really contemporary YA, since it's sort of...well, I don't know what genre I would call it. It's like contemporary YA with a ghost, for lack of a better term. But I did get into it, and it was a good, short book to listen to as I painted my living room one day. That said, it just didn't really grab me. I liked that Mia had a life with lots going on besides Adam. But Adam was just annoying and shallow. The romantic parts made my eyes roll, mostly b/c I thought he was such a tool. The best character in the book was Kim, who I loved, and who felt very real. I also liked Mia's father a lot, how I could feel his battle with giving up his old life to become a responsible adult. I loved his character and really connected with him.

The problem was, I never really connected with Mia. She's always wondering "why me?" and I sort of wondered the same thing. Why did Adam pick her? Just because she loved music...that didn't seem enough. But mostly I wondered why the author chose to tell this story from Mia's point of view. She didn't seem like a real, developed, rounded character. Despite her love of Adam, her family, and her cello, I never really felt who she was as a person. I didn't feel like she came alive as much as Kim, or her dad, or even Teddy. So why Mia? Is it just because she's a young girl and that's the audience for this book? I think the real story here was her father, and how he related to his kids and wife. The real story was about the sacrifice between self and others (cello or Adam, in Mia's case), between past self and future self, between real self and who society wants you to be, and what you have to give up to be that person. And those themes would have been served better by a book about Mia's father, not Mia.

Age 12+ for graphic death scene, some sex including casual mentions of teens staying the night together, but nothing graphic.



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YA Wednesday: Legend, by Marie Lu

Legend by Marie Lu

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've seen this book at school on tons of kids' desks, so I've read the back a few times. I kind of wanted to read it, but at the same time, I'm not the biggest fan of the popular dystopian love stories. So I've put this one off for a while.

Once I started it, though, I could not stop reading. It is compulsively, addictively readable. It's told from altering points of view, which doesn't always work, but in this one, it does. Sometimes in books from 2 POVs, I find myself rooting for one character and disliking the other, or I find one story more interesting so I rush through the other story and start to dislike it as it keeps me from the story I want to read. But this book balances the two main characters perfectly, so that they each have as much of a part to play in the story, both are equally interesting and sympathetic. I usually root more for the underdog, which would be Day in this novel, but I found myself liking June a bit better. Day was just a little bit irritatingly arrogant for my taste. I'm glad the romance was minimal, and I have a feeling I'm not going to like the next 2 books as much, as I foresee some more romantic elements creeping in. But as for this one, the romance was kept to the background (where it should be in a dystopian, IMO) so it wasn't too distracting from the story.

The suspense in here was great. It was killing me all the way through. I kept bringing the CDs from my car to the house and back so I could listen to it every spare moment. And a few surprises made me gasp out loud (view spoiler)[ like when Mateis dies--OMG, I think I yelled at my CD player  (hide spoiler)]. The world-building was fantastic, too. I could picture the world very well, even though I've never been to LA. I found it all very intriguing and fast-paced. I've already picked up the next two books, and I'm hoping they will be at least close to this one.

Age 13+ for violence.</["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>



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YA Wednesday: Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

The Fourth of July is almost upon us, and what's more American than SUPER HEROES! So, without further ado, I bring you the first book I've ever heard of featuring a Superhero squirrel. Happy Independence Day, Americans! Happy Wednesday, everyone else!

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Even though Middle Grade is a little, well, young for me, I'd still like to read all the Newbery Award Winners. I have maybe 20 left to go, and in the past few years, I've slacked a bit. So I grabbed this one from the library, figuring I could listen to it with my son in the car. I wasn't expecting much, even though I've read and enjoyed many of DiCamillo's novels.

Like a lot of books I read, I didn't read the back before starting the book. So I was a bit startled when I realized the book was about a superhero squirrel. That's right. A squirrel who is also a (suspected) superhero. At least our other title character, Flora, would like to believe when the magically blessed Ulysses enters her life. Ulysses isn't your average superhero. His feats of strength include lifting a vacuum cleaner over his head for no apparent reason. His arch nemesis is a romance writer. He vanquishes nothing more than a large cat. And he is more concerned with giant (and gianter) doughnuts than saving the world. But he may just be able to save Flora.

With wit and humor, DiCamillo proves that superheroes come in all shapes and sizes, and that even when broken, we can still shine (much like a headless shepherdess lamp).

YA Wednesday: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


3.5 Stars

This book has gotten so much hype that I was prepared to hate it. Somewhat because the last John Green book I read was, quite frankly, "not for me." I know, I know, everyone on earth seems to bow down at the mention of his name. And that's part of what's kept me from reading more of his--the holier-than-thou attitude of *some* of his fans I've encountered. I see nothing wrong at all with being a passionate, even rabid, fan of an author. I troll my library website waiting for the audio edition of the latest books by Courtney Summers, Laurie Halse Anderson, Sara Zarr, etc. But I also don't think that anyone who doesn't like their books is some kind of micro-brained moron who obviously just doesn't 'get it'. Otherwise, of course I'd fall to my knees upon the mention of his name. I'm not saying all JG's fans are like this--my sister is a huge fan of his, and both my other sisters have read some of his books and liked them. I'm not a moron, and I get it. Trust me, I do. I just don't have to like it.

That said, TFIOS has been on my tentative list for a long time. I was just afraid to read it, because I was afraid I'd hate it, and then everyone would hate me. When I got the book and found out it was told from a female POV, I was almost sure I'd never make it past the first disc (audio edition). But, I was pleasantly surprised.

First off, the protagonist was pretty snarky, which can get old fast, but she walked that line just right, so she didn't get annoying (Bonus: the audio reader just rocks). I read a lot of reviews for this after reading it, because I wasn't sure what I wanted to say. A lot of them said Hazel was a flat character, though I can't say she ever felt flat to me. So she didn't have hobbies. Hello, she has cancer! I'm guessing that takes up a lot of time. Hobbies don't make a person have personality. I liked Hazel. And Gus. Sure, he was one more impossibly good-looking love interests in YA. But the missing leg kind of evens things out, so he didn't feel too perfect. Also, the fact that he tried so hard to be romantic that it felt scripted, and the fact that Hazel didn't fall all over herself when he went into unrealistic-for-a-seventeen-year-old romantic mode, made it bearable. I liked that his corny gestures made her uncomfortable. Sometimes I read romance novels (yes, this is a romance novel, whatever anyone may say) where the guy is so completely cheesy it's obvious that he's someone's fantasy of the perfect guy. I was glad that when Gus acted that way, Hazel didn't think he was being the perfect guy--she thought he was overdoing it (probably my own shortcoming that I roll my eyes at overdone romance, but it was nice to find someone else with the same lack of sentimentality in a book). Other characters: parents were nothing more than side notes, friends were pretty much nonexistent, Peter VH--wonderful, flawed, and the best character in the book, as well as the most real and realistic in my mind.

Which brings me round to my quarrel with the book--the unrealistic dialogue. To listen to these two talk--I'm a grown woman, and I'm fairly certain I have never in my life said the word "naught." As in, "It is all for naught!" So to hear a couple of teenagers speaking so gallantly was one of two things--completely ridiculous, if they just talked that way on a daily basis, or the basis for a completely unreal relationship. The way I saw this, the two of them spoke this way to put on airs. To amuse each other by waxing philosophical with over-the-top language. In which case, about 90% of their conversations were nothing but a mockery. I'm not saying people don't talk to each other this way, but when they do, it's in jest. ("My dear friend, your chariot awaits," I might say to my best friend, if I'm feeling goofy, while I open the door of my crappy old car. But that is a kind of joke, that makes up about 1% of our conversations. Not the basis of our relationship). For Hazel and Gus, it felt like most of their relationship was made up of this kind of goofy, meaningless conversation, even though they may have been talking about the meaning of life at the time--they did it in such a way that it seemed all their words were in jest, like they never got to know each other at all, certainly not well enough to love each other. The only other option, which I didn't even think up myself but read in several reviews, is that the characters themselves were just the author musing on deep thoughts behind the thin veneer of two sick kids, which is just a shameful thing to do. So I choose to believe it's the second option--the characters never really knew each other, because they were too busy being jokey about themselves and their cancerous lives.

I did feel a bit like the author was talking down to me, showing how clever he was, in this book, but not as much as in Looking for Alaska. Maybe he's matured and doesn't feel the need to parade his cleverness through each sentence, or maybe it's just because I listened to this instead of reading it so I didn't notice. Whatever the reason, I didn't feel like the author was showing off, which allowed me to pay attention to the characters instead. I enjoyed it more and actually felt the sadness of the characters (I felt nothing but relief to be through with such an unlikeable character after the death in LFA). So, at least I was able to feel what the author intended me to feel in this book. Whether this book portrays cancer correctly, I can't say, and I'm thankful for that. I'm sure it's an uglier thing than a romance novel is allowed to show. But my heart broke for these two kids, however unreal, both in their lives and deaths. My heart broke for them because there are real kids out there with cancer, and however they deal with it, they don't deserve such a fate in their stars.



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YA Wednesday: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.5 stars

This was one of those books I picked up solely because it had been recommended and because it's popular. I'd never read a review for it, a synopsis, or even the back of the book. So when I started listening and found the book was about college students, I was surprised, as most YA ends at the end of high school. I guess it would fit into the New Adult genre, but it was probably rejected because it didn't have any explicit sex scenes.

However, it was a romance, which isn't really my cup o' tea. I guess Eleanor and Park was too, but somehow there was enough other stuff going on in that one that I was never getting that squicky feeling I get when I read romance. The romance in this was more predictable for me. I realized way before Cath that Levi liked her. He was an okay character, but just kind of eh. I would have liked the book much more if it had kept the focus on Cather's relationship with her sister and father. Those parts of the book came alive and just sang. I was left with a few unresolved questions about those relationships (like why Wren and Courtney had a falling-out, and what happened in Wren's relationship with Alejandro, what happened with her dad's mental state, etc). Instead, the book took a downturn and suddenly became all about the romance.

Okay, here's the thing. Unless you love someone, beyond-the-norm makeout scenes are just gross. And I sort of loved Levi, but not enough to think making out with his chin was sexy. To me, it was just kind of icky and funny at once. Levi was once said to be exploring her throat with his tongue or something like that--automatic gag reflex. I kept thinking--Eewww. These people do not know how to kiss! At first, the Simon Snow snippets were so boring I zoned out on them, but during the obsessive love stuff, I was glad for a moment of relief. It bordered on Twilight-esque at times.

Overall, I did like this book. I loved most of the characters, especially the dad. He was so true and sensitively portrayed. I also loved the relationships and dynamics between all the characters in the family, including the mother. My other favorite character was Reagan, so I was disappointed that she never got much of a story herself. She was just there to drive Cath around and be her friend. Which was fine, except that she never had any backstory or a life of her own beyond being Cath's friend.

I'm still sort of torn on the number of stars. May upgrade to 4 at some point if the book sticks with me for a long time.




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YA Wednesday: Memorial Book Review: Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've been meaning to read this book for years, and I'm so glad I finally did.

It started out a bit slow, but as the book went on, I realized that everything in it was intentional, even that slow start. It was like the war itself, or Perry's experience of it. He wasn't dropped in the middle of the action. His squad was eased into it. At first, not much is happening. He's kind of bored, which left me a little bored. But as tensions build in Vietnam, so do they build in the book. The first time Perry sees someone killed, he's shocked. By the end, the body count is so high you barely notice one person. He's lost so many, he doesn't even mention that first death he witnessed that upset him so much in the beginning. And yet, he never grows complacent, never grows hard to the death surrounding him.

The was this book was laid out was perfect. It starts slow, then builds to more and more dire situations as Perry and PeeWee are forced to confront mortality, their own and that of the enemy, towards the end. The saddest part for me was knowing that even when the book ended, so many were left still fighting, still dying, in Vietnam. There were several parts where I teared up from the intensity of the book. It was so real, I was there, I was in it with them, longing for The World. This book may have started slow, but it grabbed me by the throat about third of the way in and never let go. I loved the characters, all so different and so real. I could feel the intensity of their fear, their boredom, their panic, and especially, their bond with each other. 

A wonderful book. My favorite WDM book so far.

Content: Appropriate for Age 14+. M/F audiences will enjoy.





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YA Wednesday: #Book #Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.5 stars

I know this book is on everyone's radar right now. It seems everyone is reading it. Insane how popular it's gotten all of a sudden--like Hunger Games explosion style.

I thought I would like this book more, since it's contemporary ya. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't fall madly in love with it like everyone else. I'm due for one of those reading experiences, but this one wasn't quite there.

The plot was alright, if a little slow. It just didn't go as deep as I would have liked. Also, becuse of the cover and synopsis, I thought there would be more 80s music themes in it. The journey was slow, but it progressed quickly enough that I was never bored, just a bit antsy for things to pick up. I loved how the relationship progressed at such a slow, natural rate. It was a sweet romance, nothing shocking or disturbing (between the two title characters), no one emotionally scarring or controlling the other, although Eleanor was manipulative through her constant need for drama and to be consoled. More on that below. Overall, I liked the realistic, teenage progression of their relationship.

On to the characters, since that's what this novel is all about. Park--wow. I fell madly, completely in love with his character. More accurately, I remember falling madly in love with a real person who was EXACTLY like his character, right down to his collection of comics and The Smiths cassettes. Maybe that's why I liked this character so much--he was as real to me as a real person. He was so completely honest/confused/flawed/good intentioned. Eleanor--well. Here's where the problem came in for me. It wasn't that I hated her character. She was sympathetic, and I felt sorry for her as her home life was so awful. But she seemed a little lacking in depth somehow. She just never came alive for me the way Park did, so that next to him, she felt a bit flat. Also, she was a very obnoxious character to read about. Realistic, yes, we all know that girl who can't stop causing drama and intentionally misunderstanding every little nit-picky thing a guy says so she can pick a fight. But I hate those people in real life, and it was hard to LIKE her as opposed to just pitying her.

The ending--everyone has focused on that for some reason, but it didn't bother me. I thought it was very realistic, and that's what I was looking for. I didn't mind not knowing the three words, as I came up with several things they could say and was happy with that.



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