08.30.08
All Alone in the Universe- Lynne Rae Perkins
by Lynne Rae Perkins
Debbie lives in a town called Seldem. Over the summer, she likes to hang out with her best friend, Maureen.
But there’s another girl in their town. Her name is Glenna, and she likes Maureen, too. Slowly, Maureen starts to float away from Debbie, and Debbie is devastated, because her best friend is gone.
This is a really sweet book. Debbie is a very, very real heroine. It’s not hard to believe that she does truly exist, and she did really write this book.
This novel is, basically, about friendship, which is explored thoroughly throughout the book. There are really some places which make you stop and wonder and ponder what it means. There are some places that make you laugh, and there are some places that make you sober up. I have to say, I really liked this book.
08.23.08
Nobody’s Princess-Esther Friesner
by Esther Friesner
She’s Helen, princess of Sparta, destined to become the queen. But Helen finds the tasks women are supposed to do-weaving, embroider, etc.,-boring. Instead, she wants to learn how to fight, how to battle, like her older brothers.
So Helen sets out to do what she wants, counting on sheer determination rather than her looks or the gods. And while her attitude may alienate some, they also earn her some invaluable friends.
This book is about the girl who would become Helen of Troy, the girl who would eventually bring about the destruction of a great city with her beauty.
I found a few faults with this book. One, I think, is because this Helen was different from what I’d expected. The Iliad basically portrays Helen as nothing more than a pretty face quickly overcome by Paris with Aphrodite’s help. The Helen of Nobody’s Princess, by contrast, was intelligent and fierce with a big temper. So maybe I was prejudiced, but Helen of Nobody’s Princess didn’t seem to be able to become the Helen of the Iliad.
Another thing might be because I’m a little bored of princess who want to do the stuff boys do. While it’s been some time since I picked up such a book, and this book was definitely unique, I still found a rebellious princess like Helen a little bit of a cliche.
So I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone tired to such princesses, like me. And now that I think on it, I probably wouldn’t recommend it to anyone one very pious because of the easy use of Greek gods in this novel. But to someone who likes those adventurous, girl-power novels? This book was descriptive and fun. I’d say, “Go for it!”
08.21.08
Saffy’s Angel- Hilary McKay
by Hilary McKay, read by Julia Sawalha
Saffron lives with her two sisters, one brother and mother, Eve. Her father lives in London. She’s perfectly contented-that is, until she learns to read and discovers her name isn’t on the paint chart with the rest of her family. Along with this discovery soon comes the important on: Saffy is adopted. She is really the daughter of Eve’s sister, born in Siena and raised there until her mother died in a car crash.
Then comes more news: Her grandfather has died. He leaves each of the children something-to Saffy, he leaves ‘an angel, a stone angel.’ And with the help of her family, Saffy leaves for Siena to find her angel.
This book was charming and funny and entertaining. Caddy and Rose, Saffron’s sisters and Indigo, Saffron’s brother, were kind and fun. This is about a family, definitely not normal, but a family all the same.
This book talks about belonging. Ever since she realized she was adopted, Saffron doesn’t feel like she quite belongs. It tells about belonging, about how you don’t have to be biologically related to be part of a family.
I loved this book. It was descriptive and sweet, and it even had a little mystery. I think it’s my favorite book about the Casson family.
08.16.08
Lock and Key- Sarah Dessen
by Sarah Dessen
Ruby has been abandoned by her mother. For months she’s lived alone in her yellow house. But now she’s been discovered and she’s transfered to her sister’s house, with her sister and her sister’s husband: Cora and Jamie. Now she has to go to a new school, with new people, with nobody whom she knows except maybe Nate, the friendly neighbor boy.
But Ruby doesn’t want to change. She wants to be by herself, like before. But unfortunately, that’s not happening.
I’m not completely sure about this book. I liked the writing, and I liked Ruby, but there was something about it that I really couldn’t get into. I’m guessing it was because Ruby’s situation and reasoning was just really different from mine. A lot of Ruby’s actions I just couldn’t really reason with.
There wasn’t anything wrong with the writing, and I could tell it was well thought out. I really liked Olivia (Ruby’s eventual friend) and Jamie (her brother-in-law). I liked other characters too. But I’ve never experienced anything like what Ruby or Nate did, so it was a little hard there understanding them completely.
Lock and Key, I think, is about a girl understanding that life isn’t always what is expected. It’s about the fact that anything can happen if you try, and that everyone does what they think is best-although sometimes it’s good for you, and sometimes, sadly, it’s not. It’s about helping others, and how you shouldn’t be afraid to let others help you. These are big themes, and I think Sarah Dessen did a good job trying to express it.
08.12.08
Forever Rose-Hilary McKay
by Hilary McKay
Rose is the youngest of a crazy family. But lately, it seems that everyone is gone, and she’s alone in the dark, dark house: nobody knows where Caddy is; Saffy and Sarah and Indigo are always busy; Mummy’s in the shed, finishing her paintings; and Daddy’s in London.
And at school, there’s mean Mr. Spencer, who tortures everyone and says Rose can’t read—which gets Sarah started on a project to get Rose addicted to books. And on top of all that, there’s Rose’s friend Molly, who has come up with an idea and has gotten Rose to agree to do it—without knowing exactly what the idea is.
This book was so fun. Told in first-person narrative by Rose, it was funny and intelligent and brimming with honesty. Rose is a compelling character, sarcastic and unaware and sensitive. More than once I found myself laughing because of an unexpected remark. It takes some time to get used to Rose’s creative and dramatic way of writing (and exaggerating) but not a lot and it’s worth it when you do.
This is a completely funny story of family life, and I couldn’t help but enjoy it. Rose was marvelous.
08.08.08
Stargirl-Jerry Spinelli
by Jerry Spinelli, read by John Ritter
The description on the back:
Stargirl. She’s as magical as the desert sky. As strange as her pet rat. As mysterious as her own name.
From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted.
At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different. And Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal.
I enjoyed this story. Stargirl is a wonderful, bright, eager girl. Once or twice called Leo Borlock an idiot for doing what he did, yet I could understand why he did it. I think everyone would be able to.
I think that Stargirl was a creature of imagination. But at the same time, she was real. I think Stargirl is the person some of us would be if we dared. Except, like Leo, we don’t dare. And it’s our loss.
Stargirl is a role model. She’s the most unaware among everyone at Mica High, and they shun her for it. They almost destroy her, but luckily Stargirl is stronger than that. And in Stargirl’s journey, she drags Leo along too—albeit unwillingly.
This is a sweet, sweet book. I like the end. A flicker of hope toward the positive, and only another surprise with Stargirl Because of who she is, and who we are, it is. But really? it shouldn’t be.
So yes, I recommend it. It questions who we are. And not who we think we are; who we are inside. There’s a difference. In Stargirl, there’s no difference.
