Butterfly Review

Title: Butterfly

Author: Sonya Hartnett
Pages: 240

Publisher: Candlewick

Publication Date: August 24, 2010

My Edition: ARC Paperback

Reading Level: Young Adult

Received from: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Summary from Goodreads:

Plum Coyle is on the edge of adolescence. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching, when her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, and at ease. The strength of the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed —a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a coin —will make sure of it. Over the next couple of weeks, Plum’s life will change. Her beautiful neighbor Maureen will begin to show Plum how she might fly. The older brothers she adores will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends, her worst enemies, will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down. BUTTERFLY is a gripping, disquieting, beautifully observed coming-of-age novel by an acclaimed author at the top of her form.

Review:

Butterfly was a very weird but beautifully written story about an awkward teenage girl growing up with many insecurities and friend troubles. Plum seemed very different but interesting and had many issues including: a weird family, body issues, and mean friends. There wasn't much going on in the story besides Plum's everyday life, so it was pretty hard for me to keep wanting to read the story. It took me about two weeks to finish the 200+ pages of the book which is very slow for me since I can read a book that size in about 2 hours, so that definitely wasn't a good sign. The only thing that did keep me wanting to read the story was the very nice, well-written writing style. 

It was definitely an interesting and unique read but just not for me. The author is Australian and the story takes place in Australia, so the location didn't make much of a difference in the plot. The characters were all very strange especially the lonely next door neighbor who used Plum to be like a teenager again and also to get closer to her older brother. Plum's friends were very cruel, pretty, and mean at times, so I sort of understand why Plum kept some of their objects under her bed. She just wanted to fit in with her friends but learns that fitting in isn't always the best or easiest thing to do. 

When I finally finished the book, I wasn't satisfied by the ending because it kind of just stopped and didn't wrap everything together. The part right before the ending seemed to be the best part of the book because of the conflict and action between Plum and her friends, her brothers, and the next door neighbor. Butterfly wasn't at all bad, it just wasn't the type of book that I enjoyed. I however would recommend it to someone who likes coming of age stories with awkward characters.


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Very LeFreak Review

 
Title: Very LeFreak 
Author: Rachel Cohn 
Pages: 320 
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: January 12, 2010 
My Edition: Hardback 
Reading Level: YA, Ages 14+
(sex, drugs, language, alcohol) 
Borrowed From: the Library

Summary from Goodreads: 

Very LeFreak has a problem: she’s a crazed technology addict. Very can’t get enough of her iPhone, laptop, IMs, text messages, whatever. If there’s any chance the incoming message, call, text, or photo might be from her supersecret online crush, she’s going to answer, no matter what. Nothing is too important: sleep, friends in mid-conversation, class, a meeting with the dean about academic probation. Soon enough, though, this obsession costs Very everything and everyone. Can she learn to block out the noise so she can finally hear her heart?

Rachel Cohn makes her Knopf solo debut with this funny, touching, and surely recognizable story about a girl and the technology habit that threatens everything. As time goes on, Josh goes against his parents and his own better instincts to keep Maddie from completely capsizing. Along the way, he begins to question his own rigid understanding of God and whether, as his mother says, a girl like Maddie is beyond redemption. Maddie leads Josh further astray than any girl ever has . . . but is there a way to reconcile his love for her and his love for his life in the church?

Review:
Very LeFreak was a very strange but funny and unique novel about a pretty messed up girl. Very (real name Veronica) has grown up with a single mother who is basically a hippie. They moved around from place to place on a whim. Her mother was very carefree until she died while Very was still in high school. She goes to live with her aunt who she barely knows and isolates herself in the attic away from her aunt. Very is a very smart girl and goes to Columbia University. She starts to have lots of problems with school and her friends because of technology addition through iPods, iPhones, and laptops by IMing, texting, memeing, emailing, ect, ect. Her friends finally intervene to help her which means being sent to ESCAPE, and the rehab causes many changes in her life.

The characters were all very different and original. Very was the most original character I have read in a while. She is very hard to explain, and I don't really know if I even like her. Her character is just very complex and nothing like myself. The whole story was pretty racy with lots of language use, sex, and drug & alcohol reference. I didn't mind it too much because that is what the main character was like for someone who came from a dysfunctional childhood. I was very shocked by the last 100 pages because so many unexpected things happened. The book was very fast paced and easy to read. I love Rachel Cohn's books, but this one was good but just one of her greatest.

Rating:

Nanny Returns Review

Title: Nanny Returns

Authors: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Publisher:Atria

Publication Date: 

December 15, 2009

Pages: 305

My Edition: Hardback

Reading Level: Adult 
*lots of cuss words!*

Where I got it: from Engleman & Co.

Summary from Goodreads:

Ten years after her original misadventures in babysitting, Nan returns to NYC in this saucy sequel to the phenomenal bestseller The Nanny Diaries. Now married and pondering motherhood herself, the recovering caregiver is about to get a whole new perspective on childrearing. Her trouble former charge bursts back into her life and her new consulting business introduces her to nannying's sophisticated older sister: private school. With the same biting wit and tender heart that marked the original, this long-awaited follow-up skewers the elite culture of "outsourced parenting" on the razor-sharp tip of a 21st-century Mary Poppins umbrella. It's as funny as it is affecting: call it chicklit with a conscience.


Review:

Nanny Returns was a decent sequel to Nanny Diaries and is set 12 years later in Nan's yet again hectic life. It took me forever to finish because there was just too much going on and not many things I could relate to like I did in the first book. I had trouble reading the first 200 or so pages because it was just a little too slow and kind of tedious to read. However after those pages, the ending was very fast-paced and filled with so much action which I enjoyed reading. Unlike the beginning, I couldn't stop reading the end with so much drama going on. I guess because it is an Adult fiction book, I couldn't really relate to Nan's life now that she's married and is in the "real" world.


I really liked that Nan and Ryan aka Harvard Hottie got married, and now they are buying a house that has many issues. It was interesting to read about the X family again and read about all their drama. Grayer is now 16 and is very troubled...his mother is distraught when Mr. X leaves her which leaves him to take care of his little brother, and he's also dealing with his parent's separation and never seeing his father. I felt pretty bad for the boys and really liked that Nan gets involves & helps them out. I didn't really like reading about Nan's new job or her becoming friends with an old snooty classmate because half the time I just couldn't follow what was going on. Altogether, I wish it was a little more entertaining and a little more interesting to read like the first book The Nanny Diaries, but in the end I did enjoy reading about Nan and the troubled X family again.

Rating:

Guardian of the Dead: DAC Review

 


Title: Guardian of the Dead

Author: Karen Healey

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 

April 1, 2010

Pages: 333

My Edition: ARC Paperback

Reading Level: YA & Ages 12+

Where I got it from: Hip Scouts 

Summary from Amazon:

This is an intriguing YA urban fantasy in the tradition of Holly Black and Wicked Lovely. Set in New Zealand, Ellie's main concerns at her boarding school are hanging out with her best friend Kevin, her crush on the mysterious Mark, and her paper deadline. That is, until a mysterious older woman seems to set her sights on Kevin, who is Maori, and has more than just romantic plans for him. In an effort to save him, Ellie is thrown into the world of Maori lore, and eventually finds herself in an all-out war with mist dwelling Maori fairy people called the patupaiarehe who need human lives to gain immortality. The strong, fresh voice of the narrator will pull readers in, along with all the deliciously scary details: the serial killer who removes victim's eyes; the mysterious crazy bum who forces a Bible on Ellie telling her she needs it; handsome, mysterious Mark who steals the Bible from her and then casts a forgetting charm on her. All of this culminates in a unique, incredible adventure steeped with mythology, Maori fairies, monsters, betrayal, and an epic battle.

Review:

Guardian of the Dead was an interesting and original but a very confusing book full of New Zealand mythology and history. I really was excited to read this book, and the beginning kept up to my beforehand excitement. The beginning was really good, and I really liked how it was written and the characters. Once I hit the middle, the story became very confusing with all the Māori mythology which I didn't really understand and I couldn't follow the history. I really liked the different mythical creatures, but I wish I knew more about the Māori and their culture, so I could've understood the book better.

Besides the mythology, I really liked the characters. The main character Ellie was a great character, and I loved reading from her point of view. I also liked her best friend Kevin, Iris, and her crush Mark. All the characters even the magicians were nicely developed and fun to read about. The ending wasn't as boring as the middle because there was lots of action. The ending was surprising and pretty good. In conclusion, I really liked the characters and the exposition of the story. The middle was a little boring and confusing, but the ending wrapped everything up and was even a little sad. I wish I had liked the story I little more, but I still recommend reading it. I look forward to reading more from the debut author Karen Healey because I really liked her writing style and the original story line.

Rating:

Running on the Cracks Review

Title: Running on the Cracks
Author: Julia Donaldson
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 
Publication Date: September 15, 2009
Pages: 224
My Edition: Hardback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Where I got it: Henry Holt InGroup 

Short Summary from Amazon:
Leo’s running from her past. Finlay’s running into trouble. Together, they stumble into a crazy new world of secrets, lies, and Chinese food. But someone is on Leo’s trail . . . Eccentric, unforgettable characters and genuine, heart-pounding suspense make for a stunning combination as celebrated author Julia Donaldson expands her talents in her first novel for young adults. 

Review:  
Running on the Cracks was altogether just an alright book. One of the best parts is probably the cover. I think it draws you into the book, and goes very well with the story. The most compelling part of the book would be the unforgettable characters and cover. The book was a little boring at times, but the characters made things interesting and were very funny.

I finally finished the book after reading it for about two weeks (yikes!). It took me so long to finish because I would get often get very bored and distracted while reading it. I wish it was a little faster paced and more fun to read. Also, the author and the characters are British, so at times I didn’t really understand what they were talking about. I don’t know if I would recommend it because of it being a little uninteresting. The end of the book is really good because it picked up the pace, and wrapped up all the loose ends. Running on the Cracks sounded good in theory, but it just didn't cut it for me. 

Rating:

Catcher in the Rye Review

I read Cather in the Rye for ALA's Banned Book Week. Tomorrow, I will start reading the Lovely Bones for BBW.

Title: Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: November 1, 1984
Pages: 214
My Edition: Paperback
Reading Level: ---
Where I got it: This old copy is my mom's and who knows where she got it : )

Description (From Goodreads):
Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins, "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them." His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.

Review:

Catcher in the Rye takes place in two days in Holden's confused life. He's expelled from multiple boarding schools and just got expelled again. He is expelled for failing several classes because he just doesn't care anymore. After he is expelled, he doesn't want to go home to face his parents, so he wanders around NYC trying to find things to do. He doesn't like the "phonies" in the world and is very pessimistic. He's also a rich boy who wastes a lot of money trying to entertain himself which results in a prostitute, a fight, argument with a girl, and lost money. In my opinion, I don't understand what was the point of the book. It was pretty decent and not as boring as I thought it would be. Holden's thoughts and dialogue was pretty funny. Every second he swears which is kind of funny but annoying. It took a long time to finish it because it didn't keep me hooked. I recommend and don't recommend reading this. Also, I can see why this book has been banned many times because of the language, alcohol and cigarette usage, and sex talk of teenage boys.

Rating: