Suite Scarlett

It's Maureen Johnson's newest book, and it is just what you would expect. If you enjoyed Girl at Sea and 13 Little Blue Envelopes, you'll love Suite Scarlett.

The Martin family runs an historic hotel in New York City, one that used to be grand but now is a bit shabby and sparsely used. For Scarlett, this means that instead of the fabulous waffle breakfast typically served on her birthday, she receives the news that the last non-family employee, the cook, has been let go and her parents have attempted to make her breakfast. And although she has also gotten a cell phone and a suite of her own to be in charge of, the lack of staff means that instead of getting a part-time job for pocket money in the fall, she will be working at the hotel and helping out with her little sister.

But the bad news isn't just for her. Her beloved brother, Spencer must find a paying acting job in three days or be forced to attend culinary school. Luckily, he finds one--granted, it is an off-off-Broadway production of Hamlet involving unicycles and slapstick and pays only cab fare--but it is a paying job nonetheless. To add to the craziness, Scarlett gets a guest in her suite, a very eccentric ex-actress with some interesting requests (white plum tea, dance tights, a book on how to write a book). Oh, and she is also falling one of the actors in the Hamlet production--one that happens to be three years older than her and Rosencrantz to Spencer's Guildenstern.

I was excited by this book and I was not disappointed. Filled with Johnson's quirky sense of humor and fabulous understanding of what it is like being a teenage girl, Suite Scarlett is a fun romp through hotel history and acting culture in New York City. The secondary characters and short articles about the hotel really make the book. I would love to see a continuation of the story, especially if Johnson would write a book for each of the other Martin siblings, fascinating in their own rights. And Mrs. Amberson nearly steals the show!

Breathe My Name by R.A. Nelson

"In the night, in my imagination, there is no light where she is. Momma moves on the tips of her big fingers, scrabbling along on a dirty concrete floor like a spider. She is a spider. That is what she has become."

It is eleven years after, but Frances still wakes up from nightmares. She wakes up with the knowledge that the phone is going to ring...and its going to be her. It suffocates her. Even if it never happens. Eleven years after, but you don't get over something like that. Not easily, probably not ever. It is eleven years after Frances' mother suffocated her three sisters and attempted to suffocate Frances as well and now she's getting out of prison.

The book is set up with two alternating story lines. The first is present day with Frances in her new life, with her best friend and new love interest. The second is from her previous life when she was seven years old and her sisters were still alive. The chapters alternate back and forth between these two times and serves to show that even though Frances has come very far and lives a good safe life in the present it is all but impossible to completely escape the past. Especially after her mom's lawyer delivers a letter to her which only says that they need to meet so she can finish what she started. Frances is understandably freaked.

I was very strongly reminded of Andrea Yates when reading this book and I wonder if that is where the author got the idea for writing this story or at least based the mother on her (they even share the same hairstyle). It seemed to me that Frances' mother was suffering from deep post-partum depression and was slowly losing her grip on reality. Living in a remote area with a husband that was hardly around she was unable to get the help she needed. This was sort of hinted at in the book, but never directly mentioned, (the post-partum depression not basing the character on Ms. Yates).

After the mother is released from prison to a half-way house Frances and her boyfriend go on a road trip to find her and confront her. It is something that Frances feels she needs to do for closure. I loved the book up until this point. The story slowly unfolds giving you one or two more details every chapter. Introducing you to people from the past and their stories widen your knowledge of what happened. You see the mother as the spider that Frances imagines her as - dark, dangerous, insane, and wanting to finish what she started. Unfortunately the author throws in a plot twist that came completely out of left field and sort of ruined the book for me. It just felt thrown in, added on, it didn't mesh into the story. I was disappointed. Had it not been for that odd plot twist the character development and suspense would have made this an extremely fantastic read.

Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught

Jamie is a big girl. No, scratch that - she's a big fat girl. But don't expect her to roll over and apologize or fade into the background, that's just not her style. She's created her alter ego Fat Girl and the world better watch out, Fat Girl is on the move to prove she deserves respect and love just like everyone else.

She's got a weekly column in her high school paper where she deals with issues that fat people deal with everyday. From discrimination at stores that refuse to carry larger sizes to people who laugh at fat people on the internet to doctors who inflict psychological pain during what should be a routine checkup. She attacks it all with verve. Her column is so popular it actually garners national media attention. But not all the attention is positive - people are beginning to say that she's promoting an unhealthy lifestyle and that she's just a bitter skinny person hater. Which is, of course, blatantly untrue. She just wants people to accept her and other overweight people as they are. And, you know, maybe win a scholarship to college in the process.

Jamie is incredibly involved in school. She's had a leading role in the school play for the past several years, she's on the school paper, she's got a great boyfriend and a couple of incredible friends. However, even with everything she's got going for her she's got things to deal with. The fact that her boyfriend is going to have weight-loss surgery is chief among them. He's made the decision that he'd rather have a risky life-threatening surgery than be fat anymore. How should that make Jamie feel? Will he still love her when he isn't fat anymore? How much of Jamie is actually Fat Girl and how much is a front that she's created to distance herself from the embarrassment, pain, and difficulty that being morbidly obese can cause?

This book deals with obesity in a new way. And by a new way I mean that the point of the story is not that Jamie wants to lose weight. Virtually unheard of in a world where we assume a person like her must want that desperately and above all other things. Instead, she is loud and proud about herself, unashamed and involved in school, addressing and breaking stereotypes with each column she writes. What Susan Vaught has managed to do is to write a compelling story about an overweight teen that is humanizing and emotionally true. Is Jamie really so blase about her weight? Of course not. Deep down would she like to be a "normal" size? Of course she would. Does the fact that she is fat make her less deserving of love, affection, and respect? No freakin way.

An incredibly well written book that deals with obesity in a new and sensitive way. I wouldn't expect anything less from the author of Trigger - an equally well written novel.

Happy Birthday, Kerry!

No foolin! It's Kerry's Most Awesome Birthday!

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

"I used to be someone. Someone named Jenna Fox. That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me. More than the facts and statistics they fill me with. More than the video clips they make me watch. More. But I'm not sure what."

Jenna has just woken up from a coma. She was in an accident and initially can't remember anything at all about her life. The problem is when she starts to remember, her memories are things that she has no business remembering...like her baptism and entire books verbatim. What exactly happened to her after her accident? She knows that her parents are keeping secrets from her and she's got questions. Questions that no one wants to answer.

This book is set in the not too distant future where people have backed themselves into a corner by meddling with the DNA of foods and people. Antibiotics are no longer effective and so virus plagues periodically devastate the population. There is a regulatory board that states no person may get more than 49% of their body altered. Meaning you can get organ transplants, get a new virtually real prosthetic hand, get neural chips - but 51% of you must actually be you.

Jenna knows that she is not the same Jenna from before the accident. But how much of her is actually different? What did her parents do to save her? How far is too far to save someone you love?

Blew. Me. Away. This book was sooooo good. It deals with morality and science in a way that is completely fresh and engaging. It deals with what makes a person who they are, what makes a person human (and there are some great contrasts with people who are more machine than people versus people who are completely human but are sociopaths - who is actually more human?). Post accident Jenna is not the same, but her fight to regain her life is completely spellbinding. The book is filled with great secondary characters too. Her grandmother Lily, the mysterious neighbor who makes art from nature, and Ethan a swoon worthy boy who has a past almost as checkered as Jenna's.

There is only one thing that bothered me. Jenna and her family move to California to sort of hide out, so why did they let Jenna enroll at school using her real name? Not so swift.

I'm positive this will be in my top 10 of 2008. I haven't read a book this good since King Dork in 2006.

Schooled by Gordon Korman

Back in November Michelle posted the Texas Lone Star Reading List. This book just came into my library, and since Korman will be at TLA next month, I thought I better know more of his work than Born to Rock.

Thirteen year old Capricorn Anderson grew up on a psychedelic hippie commune with his grandma, Rain. Once upon a time Garland Farms was a happening place, but now Cap and Rain are its only residents. No tv, no radio, no phone. They grow their own food and fix everything with duct tape. Rain homeschools Cap and does a pretty great job of it according to the state testers. One day Rain falls from a tree and Cap is arrested for driving when he tries to take her to, gasp!, the hospital. Rain is out of commission for 6 weeks and Cap is handed over to a social worker who just happened to have spent part of her youth at Garland Farms before her parents decided that they do rather like modern conveniences and money. Those 5 years scarred our Mrs. Donnelly as she knows only too well the painful awakening Cap is about to have as he leaves his utopia for hell - aka C(l)average Middle School.

Cap's arrival immediately marks him the biggest dork on campus resulting in spit balls, teasing, and other torments like being given directions to non-existent rooms. Because of his pacifist upbringing, he takes it all in stride never striking out or blowing up. Much of this is due to his naivete regarding the "world out there", but the rest is his personal Beatles-inspired philosophy that "all you need is love".

Cap is a great character. I appreciated how Korman (who tells the story through the different voices of the main characters) kept Cap true to himself while the other supporting characters changed, not only in their views of Cap, but in the way that they treat others and live their lives in general. Right on, dude. I did have trouble with the whole commune/nonviolence = 60's hippies and that Cap was seen as something from the past. It marked that sort of philosophy as sqarely hippie-dippy when it could have had a more contemporary alternative lifestyle background. Also, what Rain does at the end completely came out of the blue for me. That didn't sit well, either.

All-in-all it's a super fun book aimed at middle grade readers. Korman nails his well-earned status as a go-to humor guy and the appeal for this book should reach both boys and girls.

Bunker 10 by J. A. Henderson

"At 2000 hours on Monday, 24 December 2007, Pinewood Military Installation exploded. The blast ripped apart acres of forest and devastated the remote highland valley where the base was located. There were no survivors and no offical cause was given for the incident. Inside Pinewood were 185 male and female military personnel - a mix of scientists and soldiers. There were also 7 children. This is the story of their last day."

The seven children are actually a mix of older kids and teenagers. They are all geniuses, they all have specialties, they have all been recruited by the military. Until this fateful day, none of them have ever been down to level ten - the bunker which has the highest security. But something has gone terribly wrong. Terribly, terribly, awfully wrong.

The Good:
There were a couple of absolutely fantastic plot twists. The first plot twist just blindsided me. It came at about 100 pages into the book and just blew me away. It was genius. The second plot twist, not quite so amazing, but very good nonetheless. And no, I'm not going to spoil it for you, but trust me you won't see them coming either.

The Bad:
The writing was not terribly strong. The characters were flat and I had a hard time differentiating between them. They had no development whatsoever and were just basically mechanisms to move the plot ahead. It was like he had a great plot, but then didn't take the time to flesh out the other aspects of the story.

The Ugly:
There is a character named "Diddy Dave" that seemed to be some bizarre imitation of Ali G. I kept going seriously? Is this a joke? Alas, it wasn't (or i never caught onto it) and I kept expecting Diddy Dave to bust out with Booyakasha or whatever it is that Ali G always says while snapping his fingers together. So yah, Ali G if Ali G was a "genius" but still spoke like a total tool that would be Diddy Dave.

Not the best action adventure/science fictiony book I've ever read, but the plot twists made me want to read until the end. It would likely appeal to reluctant readers.

Horton Hears a Who movie

Okay, I know it's not YA, but I just watched this movie and it was so much fun!

I was a bit worried, seeing how the more recent Seuss remakes (Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas) weren't much fun, but I was happily surprised. Casting was perfect, especially Caroll Burnett. Although, little Katie was a bit creepy. And while it follows the book, this version is not afraid to elaborate a bit.

My favorite things about this movie were the allusions to other Seuss works throughout, the little emo son, and the anime/kung fu episode. I completely cracked up during the eighties music singalong!

If you need a laugh and love Seuss books, GO and see this movie. I am so showing it at the branch when it comes out on DVD.

Re-Gifters by Mike Carey

I heard about this GN a few months back and have really enjoyed the other Minx comics I have read, so when I saw Re-Gifters at the Central library on my last weekend shift, I snatched it up. I just love the cover-it really connects to the story and I like how Dixie is attached like a gift tag!

Dik Seuong Jen, Dixie to her friends, is a Korean American teenager who practices hapkido as a way to connect to her culture and just because it is fun. When her crush for a fellow student begins to throw off her game, she might not make it into the national tournament, which is being hosted in her South Central L. A. neighborhood this year. Especially after she spends her entry fee on a not-so-well-received gift for her crush, Adam. Through the many plot twists, Dixie discovers who her friends really are and that love can come in unexpected packages!

Heads up to all you librarians! The street competition for the tournament happens in a library. How cool is that!

Anyway, it's a great story that manages to be very multicultural without cramming it down your throat or being too sappy. Dixie is likable, but not flawless and the side characters are just as interesting as the main ones. Next Minx title on my to read list: Good as Lily.

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Five sisters live in a Romanian castle in which they have discovered a secret portal to the Other Kingdom on the night of each full moon. This other kingdom is filled with fairies, creatures, and other beings who are known about amongst the humans, but rarely seen and more often feared. The five sisters enter the fairy realm and dance the night away before rushing back home shortly before dawn.

Their lives are pretty much idyllic. They are very content until a series of events begin to chip away at their happiness. First their father falls ill and must go away for treatment. Then their cousin Cezar begins to take over their business and remove freedoms and privileges that the girls are used to enjoying. And finally a mysterious dark haired stranger has stolen one sister's heart and she is no longer at all the same.

This is a mixture of several different fairy tales rolled into one retelling. The first seems to be an adaption of the Twelve Dancing Princesses (although in this tale there are only five sisters and no princes lose their heads). The second is the Frog Prince. One of the elder sisters has a pet frog whom she found in the woods. Not an ordinary frog, but one that can communicate telepathically to her (only her...).

I really wanted to be swept away by this book. Heck the cover had me half swept away already. Unfortunately, I guess, it wasn't meant to be. I found the book to be overlong and the dialog more than a bit clunky. I was able to figure out all the major plot points far before the characters did (such as the significance of the meeting the old crone in the woods as children, who the frog was, how it was going to end...etc.). And that made for some long drawn out reading.