Sequels I've Neglected--YA and Adult

I split this into 2 posts, because I had so much tagging to do, Blogger couldn't handle it. Ah well.

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

In this sequel to The Goose Girl and Enna Burning, we return to Bayern. Just because the war is over, doesn't mean there is peace between Bayern and Tira. Isi's going to the Tiran capital on a peace mission and Enna is as well.

But really, this is Razo's book. He's always considered himself rather useless because of his small size, so he's more than surprised when he's asked to be part of the elite band of soldiers accompanying them. He's going to be a spy.

Once in Tira, someone is burning people and Enna is being blamed. It's up to Razo to figure out who's framing his friend and trying to restart the war.

I am always surprised by Hale's amazing skill to paint an entire landscape, people and culture perfectly in a mere few sentences. Her lyrical language and voice is back and this latest installment, while shorter, is just as strong as her earlier works.

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood Ann Brashares

The girls are apart this summer, each spread to her far corner of the globe. The plot is less compelling than the previous volumes, but Brashares really hits some truths right on the head. The girls changed in college. I have big problem with books that follow their characters to college and they stay exactly the same. College changes you. You lose yourself and find yourself and that's a big part of it! Also, the way Tibby reacts to her pregnancy scare was more true and real than anything I've seen in print. I think she's milked all she can out of this series, but this final volume, where it won't be the favorite of younger fans, just might be the favorite of the grown-ups who like the series, for it's unflinching realism.

Adrian Mole And the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend

(full disclosure: I just found out this existed.)

Adrian is a poxy, neurotic, and hilarious as ever. Glenn's in the army. William's in Nigeria with JoJo and Adrian's back living with his parents and working at a used book store. He buys a loft apartment with a convenience check from his credit card that sends him into a debt spiral that only Adrian could ignore. Somehow (this is Adrian) he's been talked into marrying a manipulative hypochondriac, even though he's in love with her sister.

Oh, and there's a war going on! Could Blair be mistaken about the weapons? And if so, how will Adrian get his Cypriot holiday deposit back.

Oh Adrian, we missed you. Glad to have you back.

Rainy Hazy Days are made for reading. Not blogging.

Gah. So far behind. Short and Sweet it is folks! Starting with the books I read back in MAY and haven't talked about yet! (Also, I am still reading up a storm. Seriously. I have 65 books checked out right now. Not to mention the ones waiting on my bookshelf!)

A Dirty Job Christopher Moore

Oh my. This has to be the funniest thing I've read since Moore's Lamb : The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. One day, during a tragic loss, Charlie (the ultimate beta-male) discovers he's Death. Or, one of many little deaths that run around and collect souls when people pass. His toddler daughter can kill with a single word and can't keep a house pet alive until two hell hounds arrive to stay. And there are demons in the sewers trying to take over the world. HYSTERICALLY!!! Because really, there's nothing more funny than a 2 year old screaming "Kitty!" at people and watching them keel over. (Seriously, I loved this book so much that I moved it to the top of this post so it wouldn't get lost in the shuffle)

Caddy Ever After Hilary McKay

This is the latest (and maybe last?!) book in the Casson Series (others were Saffy's Angel, Indigo's Star, and Permanent Rose). The narrative of this one is a bit different as different sections are told by the four Casson family, instead of focusing on just one child. But the magic and love continue. And my own personal heartbreak, because Caddy discovers that love at first sight exsists. And it is NOT darling Michael. (Horror! I know!) Absolutely lovely and perfect.

Tales of the City and More Tales of the City by Armistad Maupin (well, I read the first in May, the second in June)

This are actually both rereads for me. I read the first three books in this series in high school and loved, loved, loved them. But I never read the next three. I checked them all out from the library and decided to start by rereading the early ones because high school was a long time ago.

These are the stories of an unlikely band of people thrown together by all living at the magical apartment building, 28 Barbury Lane in San Fransisco, plus the other people sucked into their lives. Originally serialized in a newspaper, the chapters are only a few pages long, making for nice reading. They're light, they're breezy, the characters and the trouble they find themselves in are CRAZY. (In that delightful way)

I will say though, these books don't hold the impact they once did for me. I'm told by people who were there that they do paint an extremely accurate portrait of San Fransisco in the 70s. And they are still funny and light and I will be reading the next four!

And now we're totally into the June books!

The Booktalker's Bible: How to Talk About the Books You Love to Any Audience Chapple Langemack

Ok, so this will only appeal to you if you ever have to do Book Talking (where you go and do a little spiel on a book so people will want to read it.) BUT! If you have to do booktalking, this book is GREAT and has lots of examples (seriously, my "to read" list grew a ton while reading this.) I highly recommend for teacher and librarian types.

Refugee Boy Benjamin Zephaniah

Alem is half Ethiopian, half Eritrean. No matter where he is, he's the enemy. His dad takes him on a vacation to England and then leaves in the middle of the night, with a note saying that he must seek asylum. Alem is left adrift in a cold, foreign land and has to navigate the insane system of asylum seeking and immigration. Tragic, well written and a damning (and true) portrait of British immigration.

Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years Sue Townsend

So, JoJo has left Adrian and gone back to Nigeria. Their son is living with Pauline. Pandora has been swept into Parliament with the New Labor landslide. And Adrain has a cooking show for offal (main market: stoned university drop-outs). HILARIOUS.

Ok, that's enough for one day. More to come! I'm still behind.

I do just want to mention that I'm currently finishing up Suite Française by Irene Nemirovsky and it is absolutly wonderful and my new favorite book. The hype doesn't even do it justice.

YA Angst (or, not enough sex, drugs, or rock & roll)

Are We There Yet? David Levithan

In this wonderfully lyric tale, Levitahn tells the story of two brothers, Danny and Elijah. Danny is motivated, driven, a pre-planner, and a work-a-holic rising star at his New York Corporate Firm. Elijah, seven years his junior, is laid back, a bit of a stoner, and a spur-of-the-moment type of guy who takes time to truly see the world around him. Danny doesn't think Elijah knows how to make a living. Elijah doesn't think Danny knows how to make a life. Their parents trick them into spending nine days together, alone, in Italy. Both predict utter disaster. The entrance of the beautiful Julia doesn't help matters any.

Despite all this, Levitahn manages to craft a story that is sweet, but not sappy, with a realistic happy ending that one can actually believe in. He paints a beautiful picture of a real relationship between two brothers trying to figure out each other and themselves.

Rainbow Party Paul Ruditis

In this conterversial book, Gin is planning a Rainbow Party-- where a group of girls each put on a different color of lipstick and give blowjobs to a group of guys-- leaving behind a rainbow. (Although one character does point out that the lipstick would just get all smeared together and make a mess of brown, but that's neither here nor there.) The book follows the characters through about five hours of time on the afternoon and evening of the party-- Gin who's preparing and the classmates who are contemplating going.

Although the book tries to deal with the sexual politics involved in such a situation, double standards, and teen motivation for sexual practice, it remains a relatively light book. Not funny, but it doesn't get very deep. Despite the subject matter, it is not sexualy provacative or explicit and is fairly tame. Still, it was a fairly enjoyable read and teen sex and relationships and one more example of why people getting all up in arms about books they haven't read are just stupid.

Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras Cathy Hopkins

Lucy is 14 and looks like she's 12. Maybe. Her friends all easily pass for 16. Her best friend since forever, Izzy, is hanging out with the new girl in school, Nesta and Lucy is feeling more and more left out and left behind. It's time to choose what subjects to do for GCSEs (and then eventually A levels) and her friends and classmates have it all figured out. Lucy is clueless what she wants to be when she grows up. Then, she meets the most perfect boy and must try and get him to notice her, 12 year old body and all.

One more installment to the neurotic teen genre that I love so much, Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras is more serious than of Georgia Nicolson or Angelica Cookson Potts and less laugh-out-loud-hysterically funny. But, it is still nice in a fluffy teen chick-lit sort of way. There are a million books in this series and I haven't read them all, but I will!

The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole Sue Townsend

Adrian's back! And more angsty than ever (which is exactly how we like him!) In this novel, there is more ups and downs with Pandora, more ups and downs with his parents' relationship, more rejected poetry from the BBC... Adrian befriends Barry Kent and tries a brief stint as a yob, runs away and contemplates suicide. As cringe-inducing and hysterical as the first, Adriane endures as the angstyiest of all the angsty British teens I love so well...

Adrian Mole : The Lost Years Sue Townsend

More Adrian! He finally gets on the BBC, finishes school, loses Pandora for good, has sex, gets a job, and another and another and another and another. His mum gets married! His little sister and brother grow, his grandmother dies... he moves to London... Adrian is all grown up, and he does it beautifully, while still being Adrian, but not always being an obnoxious brat...

This also has a slightly different format than the other books-- in addition to diary entries, there are sections told in letters and radio transcripts. We also get large chunks of Adrian's magnus opus, Lo! The Flat Hills of my Homeland. Also, large chunks of time are missing as Adrian rapidly matures. It's a change that works well.

YA Extravaganza!

Elsewhere Gabrielle Zevin

Liz is more than confused when she wakes up one morning to find herself on a cruise ship with a girl she’s never met before in the top bunk. But then she starts to remember being hit by a car as she rode her bike to the mall and eventually is brought up to the observation deck to watch her own funeral.

The boat eventually lands in Elsewhere, where dead people get a day younger every day until they are taken down the river back to Earth to be reborn. In Elsewhere, Liz meets up with the grandmother she never knew and struggles with the fact that she won’t be turning 16, getting her driver’s license, or going to college. Instead, she’ll turn 14, then 13 and then 12. Again. Liz nearly drives herself crazy watching her family’s grief.

But she eventually finds her avocation counseling dogs who have just arrived to Elsewhere and starts to make friends. But death it seems, is just as complicated as life. What’s the protocol for when your boyfriend’s wife dies and is suddenly in the picture? What do you do when a bottle washes up on the shore inviting you to your best friend’s wedding? Is there a way to go back? Does she want to go back?

Beautifully written and an ingenous look at the after life, Zevin manages to address the subject at hand in a serious manner without getting too heavy or melodramatic, but also not getting too light and fluffy. Very well done.

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 Sue Townsend

It is hard being Adrian Mole. His love, Pandora, is dating his best friend. His mother has moved to Sheffield with Mr. Lucas from next door. His chin is erupting in spots. His father has been laid off. His dog is continually at the vet and the only way he’ll get a balanced meal is if he goes round to his grandmother’s house. To top it all off, Adrian knows he is in intellectual and no one else realizes it, least of all the BBC, which keeps rejecting his poetry.

I love Adrian. I've already read this one, but in my love for neurotic British teenagers... Adrian's the best! Technically a YA book, the later books in the series are adult titles (as Adrian grows up). This is milk-out-your-nose funny. I highly, highly recommend!

Love and Other Four-Letter Words Carolyn Mackler

School’s about to let out for the summer and Sammie’s life has just been turned upside down. Her dad just walked out on her mom and moved to California. Sammie’s mom decides to move to New York City. Sammie would rather go with her dad, but finds herself packed into a one bedroom apartment in the city with her dog and a mother that won’t get out of bed.
In addition to dealing with her missing father and leaving her friends and life behind, Sammie is finds herself having to take care of things she feels her mother should be in charge of–like making sure there’s food in the apartment.

Her mom doesn’t have a job and keeps flaking out on her interviews. The closest thing Sammie has to a friend is Phoebe who she sees every morning at the dog park, and Becca, the eight year daughter of her mother’s college room mate, whom Sammie watches on Tuesday afternoons. Then there’s Eli, Becca’s older brother, summer draws to and end, Sammie realizes that she’s not as lonely as she was when the summer began, and maybe things will be alright.

This is a great book that's light without being sappy or cheesy. I loved Mackler's The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things and this is another good one from an author I'm really starting to like!

The Midwife's Apprentice Karen Cushman

The midwife finds Brat asleep in a dung heap. She says she will work for food, so the midwife takes her on, having her do the housekeeping and herb-gathering and renames Brat, Beetle. Beetle is not allowed to assist when the midwife delivers a baby, but she watches from the windows and learns the midwife’s skills.

One day, she gets to go to the fair to buy things for the midwife. There, she decides that she needs a real name, a proper name, and starts calling herself Alyce. One day, in the middle of a difficult birth, the midwife gets called away and leaves Alyce in charge. No one expected the baby to be delivered alive, but Alyce talks the mother through the process and the baby survives.

After that, people start coming to Alyce more than the midwife, but when Alyce needs to call the midwife for help during a difficult birth, she sees herself as a failure and runs away, leaving the life she had built for herself.

This is a great book for an older child about making your place in the world. It's a Newberry winner and Cushman's attention to historical detail is superb. It's a short, little book, but it's meaty and packs a lot of punch.