Do any of you Tumblarians have book review blogs?

libraryjournal:

whidavrho:

I’m very interested in reading what y’all are reading.

I have one here, if you’re interested.  May not be safe for work.

Yes, and it is called LJ Reviews. Where are you recording what you’re reading?

I post about what I’m reading if it’s new and/or popular enough here on TheCardiganLibrarian and then round them up on this page of review links. They are probably the thing I do on this blog that gets the least love, and certainly one of the things I do for it that takes the most time, but it’s the only way I can remember anything at all about what I’ve read for RA and my own sanity.

Source: whidavrho

The Madness Underneath, Maureen Johnson

The Madness Underneath, Maureen Johnson (2/2013)


(#2 in the Shades of London series after The Name of the Star, reviewed here)

Scenario: Rory’s a survivor. After her encounter with a ghost mimicking Jack the Ripper, though, she’s behind on schoolwork and a bit tired of tuning out her therapist. When she gets a chance to return to Wexford, she’s up for it. Even if she can still see ghosts, returning to school means seeing her friends again and regaining a measure of normalcy, right?

Pros:

  • Rory, always. She’s deeply weird but self-aware, articulate, and funny. Johnson also has this ability to incorporate lots of humorous, only tangentially related stories from Rory’s past, giving her a sort of depth and appeal as a narrator that remind me of Ellie Linton in Tomorrow, When the War Began.
  • Changes in the love department. Need I say more?
  • Setting. I spent fall 2007 in Oxford, often visiting my then-fiance at his program in London. The descriptions are pretty spot-on and make me very nostalgic.

Cons:

  • This one is so clearly a middle book, covering only a couple weeks’ time, but it still makes for a welcome treat.

Bottom Line: I think I said it well in my review of The Name of the Star (though saying that sounds awfully self-involved!): “Not unlike the Harry Potter series, this one packs in a lot of popular elements not usually combined: boarding schools, murder mystery, the paranormal, and a fair punch of humor.”

[read via Netgalley]

katherine: Books and Your Bump #3: Let’s Panic About Babies!: How to Endure and Possibly Triumph Over the Adorable Tyrant Who Will Ruin Your Body, Destroy Your Life, Liquefy Your Brain, and Finally Turn You into a Worthwhile Human Being by Alice Bradley and Eden M. Kennedy When to Read: This is pretty solid second- and third-trimester fare. It helps if you are already big, with baby’s kicks and the world’s indulgent smiles never letting you forget that you are, indeed, capital-P-Pregnant. Of course, if you are already big and anything like me, laughing this hard is going to hurt a little. But it’s worth it. Pregnancy Fun Scale: Somewhere between justifying the french fries to meet your potassium needs (who wants charlie horses?) and spitballing absurd baby names with your husband. Representative Passage: Long, but bear with me: “So, if you’re feeling a little forgetful or spacey, here’s why: your baby has temporarily developed several prongs that extend from his spine — much like Doctor Octopus in the Spider-Man series, or those grabby things clerks at small, densely stocked grocery stores use to retrieve rolls of toilet paper from high shelves. Baby tests her horrible new appendages by groping around and squeezing nutrients from your vital organs. What’s that twinge in your right side? Baby’s just curious about your gall bladder! It will probably grow back.” [book trailer here]
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katherine:

Books and Your Bump #3: Let’s Panic About Babies!: How to Endure and Possibly Triumph Over the Adorable Tyrant Who Will Ruin Your Body, Destroy Your Life, Liquefy Your Brain, and Finally Turn You into a Worthwhile Human Being by Alice Bradley and Eden M. Kennedy

When to Read: This is pretty solid second- and third-trimester fare. It helps if you are already big, with baby’s kicks and the world’s indulgent smiles never letting you forget that you are, indeed, capital-P-Pregnant. Of course, if you are already big and anything like me, laughing this hard is going to hurt a little. But it’s worth it.

Pregnancy Fun Scale: Somewhere between justifying the french fries to meet your potassium needs (who wants charlie horses?) and spitballing absurd baby names with your husband.

Representative Passage: Long, but bear with me:

“So, if you’re feeling a little forgetful or spacey, here’s why: your baby has temporarily developed several prongs that extend from his spine — much like Doctor Octopus in the Spider-Man series, or those grabby things clerks at small, densely stocked grocery stores use to retrieve rolls of toilet paper from high shelves. Baby tests her horrible new appendages by groping around and squeezing nutrients from your vital organs. What’s that twinge in your right side? Baby’s just curious about your gall bladder! It will probably grow back.”

[book trailer here]

I am doing pregnancy book reviews over at my personal blog, and I plan to inflict them on you here. So there. katherine: Books and Your Bump #1: Prayerfully Expecting by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle When to Read: Not while battling raging morning sickness, let me tell you. All this sacred vessel, divine calling business does not sit well with a girl huddled in the fetal position nibbling a piece of string cheese (but maybe you are holier than I am). It’s designed to be a nine-month novena, which is cool in theory, but doesn’t actually work. You have all this catch up to do when you find out you’re pregnant, because you’ve already missed at least a month! So now you are unholy and sick and behind on your reading. Pregnancy Fun Scale: Huddling in the fetal position nibbling a piece of string cheese. Representative Passage: I won’t make fun of the prayers, as I clearly don’t need to get unholier, but here’s a pretty typical bit of prose: “You and the little one hidden inside you have passed through another month of growth, both physically and spiritually. You have grown over the past weeks, and your body may now be taking on a new shape!”
View Separately

I am doing pregnancy book reviews over at my personal blog, and I plan to inflict them on you here. So there.

katherine:

Books and Your Bump #1: Prayerfully Expecting by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle

When to Read: Not while battling raging morning sickness, let me tell you. All this sacred vessel, divine calling business does not sit well with a girl huddled in the fetal position nibbling a piece of string cheese (but maybe you are holier than I am). It’s designed to be a nine-month novena, which is cool in theory, but doesn’t actually work. You have all this catch up to do when you find out you’re pregnant, because you’ve already missed at least a month! So now you are unholy and sick and behind on your reading.

Pregnancy Fun Scale: Huddling in the fetal position nibbling a piece of string cheese.

Representative Passage: I won’t make fun of the prayers, as I clearly don’t need to get unholier, but here’s a pretty typical bit of prose:

“You and the little one hidden inside you have passed through another month of growth, both physically and spiritually. You have grown over the past weeks, and your body may now be taking on a new shape!”

The Disenchantments, Nina LaCour

The Disenchantments, Nina LaCour (2012)

Scenario: Colby and his best friend Bev have seen each other through everything, and now, high school graduation behind them, they’re about to set out on their biggest adventure: a brief tour for Bev’s band, followed by a year spent exploring Europe. It’s only on the road that Bev comes clean with her best friend — she’s not going to Europe.

Pros:

  • LovedHold Still,which I read for Ye Olde YA Class a couple years ago, so I was pumped when this came in.
  • Enjoyed Colby’s voice. It was refreshing to have a male protagonist voicing what is clearly a book written for girls.
  • The atmosphere. Summertime in northern California sounds pretty good when read in soggy New England March. Sunshiney but not-quite-too chipper, as the bandmates are all dealing with that tough in-between time.
  • The well-formed background characters. Very Dessenesque.
  • Melinda the VW van.

Cons:

  • Sometimes I got mad at Colby for caring for Bev, who could be so mercurial and unlikable, but I suppose that was kind of the point.

Bottom Line: Loved it. I’ve been a bit under the weather lately, and this one was pure, delicious escape. PS — I want Nina LaCour’s hair, please.

Crossed, Ally Condie

Crossed, Ally Condie (2011) [sequel to Matched]

Scenario: Banished to the edges of Society, Cassia and Ky alternate narration as they search for the love that keeps them alive.

Pros:

  • Liked what I saw of Xander.

Cons:

  • I don’t know that Ky’s voice contributed much. And his apathy toward any cause beyond himself and Cassia sometimes frustrated me.
  • Love, romantic love, as everything.
  • Felt like a filler between the action of Matched and whatever comes next. At one point, I lost my place and skipped ahead 50 or so pages without noticing. This is not a good sign.

Bottom Line: Why did I dislike this so much? I loved Matched and waited eagerly for Crossed, but maybe I’m finally burning out on dystopian romance. Certainly, it was surprisingly difficult to remember Cassia’s world this months after reading Matched, with so many similar stories in between. Normally I find second novels tedious in their asides about everything we learned in Book #1, but I definitely could have used more of that here. Recommended to fans of Delirium, Divergent and Hunger Games, of course, but not as the best example of the subgenre.

How to Save a Life (Sara Zarr)

How to Save a Life, by Sara Zarr (2011)

Scenario: Jill’s pretty sure her mom’s reaction to Jill’s dad’s death is not exactly normal. Confronted with grief, Jill’s mom opts to adopt a baby. Mandy’s on her way there, pregnant and scared, leaving behind an awful home life. When Jill and Mandy meet, two girls from very different backgrounds, tensions explode.

Pros:

  • Mandy’s pretty different from the normal YA heroine/narrator, and I loved getting her perspective. She’s not the usual witty, smart, bookish protagonist, but she’s still perceptive and deeply brave.
  • Flannery O’Connor epigraph (and title, I guess) shout-out! Love.
  • Romance that isn’t at the center of the story! Sweet and engaging in its own right, but not overshadowing Jill and Mandy’s response to one another.

Cons:

  • Grieving girl book. But Jill’s rage is different from some of the other responses to grief I’ve encountered in all these other books, and it’s not the only focus, either.
  • Both girls are a little too aware of the reasons they’re handling the situation the way they are. We have some reason for believing Jill might understand her motives, as she mentions a psychology course, but Mandy seems to grasp her underlying motivation much better than would be normal for a 17-year-old, I suspect.

Bottom Line: Highly recommend for fangirls of realistic YA fiction.

Frost

Frost, Marianna Baer {2011}

Scenario: Leena feels powerfully drawn to the secluded Frost House dorm at her prep school and expects the best senior year ever, spent making the house a home with her best friends. All that changes on move-in day, when her troubled classmate is assigned to share a room with Leena. Spooky hijinks ensue.

Pros:

  • There’s certainly a pretty driving What is going on? motivator.
  • I, too, would have loved the idea of sharing a cozy little home with my friends. I can totally see teen readers identifying with Leena on that.
  • Unreliable narrator!

Cons:

  • Never a David fan.
  • I almost didn’t finish it because it was freaking me out and keeping me up, and then I did, and was just sort of, “Oh.”

Bottom Line: Another boarding school story for those who dig that sort of thing, and a pretty galloping plot. Alternately spooky and implausible. I doubt I’d recommend it often.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling (2011)

Scenario: Um, does this work for nonfiction? Let’s try: The Office sitcom writer and general funny girl Mindy Kaling sets out to write a book.

Pros:

  • I guess maybe this is controversial, but I found Kaling’s book more engaging than Tina Fey’s, which I haven’t gotten through yet. Parts of Fey’s book just felt like the uncomfortably political bits of Anne Lamott’s later books of essays and, well, urg. I should be political, but I can’t be bothered.
  • She’s just surprisingly wholesome and likable, even, or perhaps especially, if you imagine passages in her squeaky voice:

“I liked hanging out with my family! Later, when you grow up, you realize you never get to hang out with your family. You pretty much have only eighteen years to spend with them full time, and that’s it.

  • Her humor is very observational — “A note about me: I do not think stress is a legitimate topic of conversation, in public anyway.”
  • I had read a lot of excerpts and, I seem to remember, even listened to an audio clip someplace (Jezebel?), but it was like watching a much-anticipated movie that turns out to be good, where you enjoy every familiar little clip from the preview, instead of feeling like all the good stuff is old news.

Cons:

  • Like this reviewer points out, I think the first half is stronger than the second, which starts to flake out a little bit. (But for whatever reason, I tend to come away thinking a lot of books start better than they end.)
  • I’d been on a reading dry spell (blame Corporate Libraries and its soulless eight-hour classes), and I don’t really feel like I’ve fixed it by getting through this book. As Kaling assures the reader, “If you’re reading this book every night for months, something is not right.”

Bottom Line: Fun junk food reading, and I could see some cross-over appeal for teen girls. If the audio book is read by her, it might be the route to take.

[ free excerpt ]