Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books

currently reading: Feed
reading next: Wake

Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books
written by Francesca Lia Block

(this is a collection, so I'm splitting the reviews up...kind of)



Weetzie Bat: I went into this expecting, well, a story. A fairy tale, as promised by the summary. Instead...I kind of found a jumble of gibberish. Parts (the decipherable ones) of the gibberish were interesting, parts were just weird. This was horribly description heavy, and looking back, I still really can't figure out where the *plot* is. It seems...quite pointless, really. I thought it really tried way too hard to be quirky and it shows. The thing I did like was the fast pace, although I really would have liked to get to know the characters more.

Witch Baby: I did not like the POV shift. Again, if they're entitled the Weetzie Bat books, they should be in Weetzie's point of view, and I think that sort of continuity would have worked a lot better, instead of the rampant disconnectivity between the stories. This one was also very plotless, in addition to being predictable. Nothing special.

Cherokee Bat: Again, absolutely nothing special. Still plotless (this really more than most of the others). It should have stayed in Weetzie's point of view, honestly, Witch Baby and Cherokee are just *dull*. The original three at least had an interesting story (particularly Weetzie and Dirk, I would have loved to see that explored more!). I just didn't care about what happened here.

Missing Angel Juan: Oh, boy was I relieved to see first person! This story moved along very nicely and kept me interested. It really starts to become evident here that while the stories are advertised as fairy tales, there's really *nothing* supernatural about them other than Witch-Baby being called a witch. That's really it.

Baby Be-Bop: Surprisingly enough, this actually turned out to be one of my favorites. I liked that we got to go back to the roots (although the placement was strange, shouldn't this have come first, or at least second?) of the story. Parts of this were bad. They were just random, in a bad, non-quirky, non-interesting, thoroughly confusing way. But the ending, the ending was just too sweet.

Overall thoughts: I was highly disappointed. I expected...a series. This seemed like just pointless drabbles. Still, as pointed out in the end, maybe it's just supposed to be stories, everyone's life stories? I would have loved to see interconnectivity in these life stories, though. I feel like a huge opportunity was wasted.

Weetzie Bat: 4.5/5
Witch Baby: 3/5
Cherokee Bat: 1.5/5
Missing Angel Juan: 4/5
Baby Be-Bop: 4.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Time Windows

Time Windows
written by Kathryn Reiss



So it seems that most readers really enjoyed Time Windows, and I have to wonder if they've read any of Reiss's other books. For a more juvenile crowd, I suppose Time Windows would be more appealing, but for the most part, I felt that it was a lot worse than her other books. It's just not as interesting, with a lot of down-time. The big mystery doesn't really kick in majorly until halfway through the book. The characters are pretty cookie-cutter, uninteresting, standard characters, nothing special. Parts are very predictable (although some of the bigger twists at the very end, they are pretty impossible to predict). It's really just not Reiss's best work, and the ending left me cringing--worse even than the "it was all a dream" ending.

Rating: I'd say 2/5 compared to her other books, 3/5 in general.

Which Witch?

Which Witch?
written by Eva Ibbotson



Although Eva Ibbotson's The Secret of Platform 13 is the more well-known novel, I've always felt it's completely overrated. This, in my opinion, is her real work of genius. I read it repeatedly as a child and loved it more each time, finding great new aspects I'd missed each time. Now, many years later, it's still as adorable and enjoyable, with a complex plot, highly unique characters that grow on you, and a mystical, fantastical tone that anyone will love. Ibbotson demonstrates her great talent at plot twists as well in this great book! My one minor complaint is that she does spend a little too much time directly describing each character (your typical paragraph blurb, giving a physical description), and that's something that always disturbs my reading and my imagination in general.

Rating: 5/5

Harmless

Harmless
written by Dana Reinhardt



Harmless is written in a very catchy narrative style that will have you fully engrossed in just a few page turns. It's conversational, and while it is filled with description, it is written in such a way that the description is not overwhelmingly dense and really blends in with the rest of the writing. It's easy to develop different feelings toward every individual character, as they all have very powerful and unique personalities. Despite all this, which seems like a perfect set-up, the plot falls short. It's really a quite predictable cookie-cutter plot, and was slightly painful to read, particularly toward the end. It left me cringing, seriously hoping page after page that there'd be some gripping twist, but nope, nothing, and a book, no matter how well set-up, just can't be good without a good plot.

Rating: 3/5

100 Posts & A Contest!

Whoohoo! This is my 100th blog post!

In celebration of that and the lovely people who read this, I've decided to [finally] hold my first contest. I'm giving away a brand new hardcover copy of Jay Asher's amazing Thirteen Reasons Why.

So, the rules:

To Enter, simply leave a comment telling me why you read YA books.

In your comment, please include your e-mail address. I will be posting the name of the winner here, as well as e-mailing them.

Unfortunately, due to shipping costs, this contest is open to U.S. Residents ONLY.

Earn extra entries:

One extra by becoming a follower (or simply letting me know you already are a follower, if that's the case)

One extra for posting about this contest on your blog (sidebar links are fine)

Contest ends midnight, March 27.

Thanks to everyone who's been supporting me in my obsessive reading, here's to 100 more :)

The Worry Web Site

The Worry Web Site
written by Jacqueline Wilson


The Worry Web Site is one of those books that every child should really get to read. Mr. Speed is the ideal teacher, and he, through his ingenious website, helps many different kids in many ways. All of the characters are relatable kids that jump to life. Before I even started reading, I fell in love with the premise. The interconnectivity of all their stories adds a whole other dimension, making it so much more enjoyable to read. I was slightly hoping the end would have a worry that was just too serious, seeing Mr. Speed deal with that would have been interesting, and some more details about Mr. Speed himself would have been great, but still, amazing book. Oddly enough, my favorite 'worry' was the one that wasn't even Wilson's--it was the contest winner's!

Rating: 5/5

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth

currently reading: Harmless
want to read: Wake
reading next: The Fortunes of Indigo Skye

Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
written by E.L. Konigsburg



Ehh...I really didn't find much captivating about this book. Throughout the whole thing, Jennifer is shown as a highly mysterious character, and I was so hoping for some kind of big reveal, a supernatural twist, whatever, about her, and none came. There was no big climax, just a steady slope all the way through. I can say that the characterization was very good, placing small details that made you love the characters. But the details were taken too far sometimes, making for some dull reading. Once you finish, you leave the book wondering what the point of it was, only to find that there really wasn't one.

Rating: 1.5/5

Girl at Sea

Girl At Sea
written by Maureen Johnson



Pardon the pun, but for a book entitled Girl at Sea, this was horrendously dry. There's very little that's really interesting, and the things that are are pretty minor (neat chapter titles, some interesting characters, etc.) For the most part, the characters are very boring and highly robotic. Other than Martin of all people, none of them really have...personalities. It's all very unrealistic, and gets solved way too easily. There was just nothing entirely gripping or interesting about the story. It's written annoyingly, details down to the disgusting cover are annoying, and it's not worth the time.

Rating: 2.5/5

I haz an award!

Thanks to JonJon!

The rule is to tag newbies blogs that you have read lately.

My tag is clearly going to be Ashley's Occupo Libri. Go follow her awesome rambles (& let her know that, yes, she's doing the whole blogging thing correctly ;P)

Oh. My. Gods.

Oh. My. Gods.
written by Tera Lynn Childs



Oh. My. Gods. came highly recommended in the blogosphere. I began reading it and immediately thought of Avalon High, also containing a runner as the main character, with a mythical backdrop. The tone from the beginning was a very natural one, and it didn't take long at all before I was hooked. The characters were intriguing--as was the social structure of this great new place. It all flows and is a reading experience you're not likely to forget. My one major complaint about the characters is a pretty big one though--I never actually grew to like Griffin, and seeing as he is the main love interest, it's a pretty big 'uh-oh'. He's a jerk to the core, Herculean or not. Part of me thinks the whole book was a little botched up, it was an interesting read, sure, but I really think that had it been set in Nicole's point-of-view, no Phoebe, with the main plot elements belonging to Nicole, it would have made a good story. I can see Nicole ending up with Griffin, and the history the two of them have is much stronger than his and Phoebe's. It would just have been a more entertaining story. The other thing that struck a nerve was Phoebe's newfound godliness. Way too convenient. The point was to see it from the outsider, not the outsider-who-becomes-the-insider. It worked in Avalon High, but it was a little too much for this book.

Rating: 4/5

How to Be Bad

How to Be Bad
written by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle



How to Be Bad was a really great example of how realistic YA books can be. A mother deals with cancer and her teenage daughter's world spins upside-down. Three girls, two close, one an outsider, all have their fair share of completely realistic bickering on a random, spur-of-the-moment road trip rivaling those created by John Green himself. Everything about this book is real. The voices. The characters. The wacky situations. (The authors themselves admit that they went through most of this stuff on their own road trip). It was pretty neat reading about Jesse and her new fanatical devotion to God. Most teens are seen as wild children with no regards to what God or their parents may think, but that's just not true. While there are parts of the book that are just purely girly gossip and feel a bit uncomfortable to read, overall, it's about the friendships that bind us, the friendships to be made, the friendships that can be broken and mended, in the end bringing us three girls with one of the strongest friendships in the YA world. The only question I now have--which author wrote which girl?!

Rating: 4.5/5

Palace of Mirrors

Palace of Mirrors
written by Margaret Peterson Haddix



I did enjoy Just Ella, but I didn't have high hopes for this one, as I noticed that there were new characters as opposed to a continuation. Immediately, I noticed that each of the characters was intriguing, and had a fully developed backstory, something I felt Ella lacked. I liked the characters a lot, particularly Harper. I wanted to know more, more about all of them, from Cecilia to Sir Stephen. I thought there might be a small cameo, a passing mention of Ella and/or Jed, so boy was I unprepared to see the humongous role Ella ended up playing! It was amazing, I've never seen an author so seamlessly blend a character from one novel into the next, giving a new reader a good read, and an old reader an absolutely amazing one. But that's not the only thing the book excelled at. May I just mention that this was by far the most amazing plot twist I have ever read of? It's one nobody could possibly guess, but at the same time is so deliciously twisted that you can't help but love it. Palace of Mirrors was everything you could want in a book, and I'd love to give it all the praise the literary world has to offer.

Rating: 5/5

I'll be posting a few reviews later on, but I just really wanted to pass on Maureen Johnson's latest blog post.

Just Ella

Just Ella
written by Margaret Peterson Haddix



With all the retellings of Cinderella out there, it's really hard to decide which are worth the read. I'd stop the search right now and read Just Ella. While the original story is retold, it is more of a sequel. I love the twist on it--what if Cinderella's brand new life was worse than her old conditions? If Prince Charming was a bore, and being ladylike just wasn't worth it? Not much seems to happen plotwise in this story, but the idea is pretty amazing. I think Haddix would have ended up with a better story if it was a short story or something to that effect, but it still is a very entertaining read. It both put a feminist spin on it all, and retained its own fairy tale roots (although, no 'happily ever after', actually, I was kind of hoping it would end with those words.) I'm disappointed that there isn't a sequel/there wasn't more to the story, but I'm looking forward to the companion book!

Rating: 4/5

The Boyfriend List & The Boy Book

The Boyfriend List
written by E. Lockhart

This is pretty much a YA classic, definitely high up there on the list. I love everything about this book--the characters are all lovable, even though some are only seen in one chapter. Each of them has their little quirks and memorable qualities, and everything just seems so bright about this book. Ruby can get a little annoying, but overall, she's just so...normal. She's going through everything girls go through, and thanks to E. Lockhart, she gets a little help along the way from her therapist, Doctor Z (again, major kudos, I wish I could see more therapy in YA fiction!) You can actually find many parallels between this book and John Green's An Abundance of Katherines--lists of significant others, same quirky narration, even the awesome footnotes! The one thing I felt John Green was lacking in Katherines was a logical order of the girls, and that's exactly what E. Lockhart does here with the guys, the stories are told in a logical order, and all of the stories are told. Even the style (cover, page numbers on the sides, etc) of the book is eye-catching and grabs your attention. It's the perfect book for any teenage girl--school drama, relationships, dealing with life in general, it's all right here. I've got nothing but the highest praise for Ms. Lockhart with this one!

Rating: 5/5

The Boy Book
sequel to The Boyfriend List



From the beginning, it was quite obvious that E. Lockhart was going to create the exact same atmosphere as the last book--and thank goodness she did! Reading them back to back, the transition was seamless. The tone had stayed the very same and Ruby was still the same lovable Ruby. You knew from the title that Kim would play a part, so I did love the resolution between those two. Plenty of new ideas were introduced (Ruby working at a zoo was a perfect fit!) and the suspense was killing me. The characters seemed to evolve even more, all in good ways. The one thing that did frustrate me was the lack of resolution in Ruby's love life, which was why I was very relieved to find out that there will be a third Ruby Oliver book, and let's hope she finally gets the guy in this one (I'm rooting for Noel!)

Rating: 4.5/5

Dramarama

Dramarama
written by E. Lockhart



Dramarama was a complete flop. E. Lockhart is pretty good at this, writing some books that just blow you away, some that you want to throw away. This definitely goes with the latter. I didn't go into it expecting much--theatre kids have always and will always annoy me to no end. While I did grow to love some characters, "Sadye" was not one of them. She's such a stereotypical drama girl--made up name, made up life, full of her fake self. While the narration was pure E. Lockhart, the subject matter was just...dull. I'm sure a drama lover would like it more than I did, but...I'm clearly not a drama lover. There was nothing that made me care about the characters, and the one I ended up liking most was Demi of all people (and I am quite conservative when it comes to things like homosexuality, which should tell you about the quality of these characters.) It was one of Sarah's quotes that cinched it for me: "I hated her neediness, her naked, naked feelings" and that was exactly why I hated her. The ending was unbearably horrible, another one of those books like Sweethearts where it all is going so well and then randomly and pointlessly falls apart.

Rating: .5/5

(Don't worry, I'm done with the E. Lockhart bashing for now. Coming up sometime this afternoon, hopefully, are my reviews for The Boyfriend List and The Boy Book and they are happy reviews =D)

*squees*

ZOMG guys, Harry Potter giveaway!

Booking Through Thursday-2/12/09

Do you read any author’s blogs? If so, are you looking for information on their next project? On the author personally? Something else?

Well, let's see. I've been a long-time (by long-time, I mean, for the first two, since they were established) reader of the following:
Meg Cabot
Sarah Dessen
Laurie Halse Anderson

And a not-so-long reader of the equally awesome:
John Green
Maureen Johnson
Courtney Summers
and
Ms. Susane Colasanti!

I read because, well, if these people have written books that I particularly like, then I like their writing style and that same writing style will show up in their blogs. It's like extended books from them, except...not really. Finding out about their wacky lives is always really fun, and authors really do always seem to have wacky lives. The extra tidbits about their books are always fun, too =D

And see, through this edition of BTT, I've found out that E. Lockhart has a blog and there will be a third Ruby Oliver book, which makes me incredibly happy. Yay! (psst...look for Ruby Oliver reviews sometime soon, hopefully today!)
Happy BTT, looking forward to everyone else's answers :)

Shopaholic & Baby

Shopaholic & Baby
written by Sophie Kinsella



Becky Bloomwood is back... but was it worth it? I'm still pretty strong in my convictions that Ms. Kinsella should have stopped two books ago. This isn't to say that it's a weak book, it's just, like Meg Cabot has repeatedly said when asked if she'll continue Mediator/1-800, after everything eventful has happened, the convoluted situations can lead to nothing good. Kinsella has already taken the time (three books) to establish the strong bond between Becky and Luke--only to randomly (seemingly) break it in this one? Quite annoying, really. I felt like everyone's characters seemed to break a little bit, and the one relationship that I really did like the developments in, Jess and Tom, didn't really have a satisfying ending...or much of an ending or beginning at all. Will there be more books, then? It would seem like overkill, although I would personally love a spinoff focusing solely on Jess and Tom. I still did love how Kinsella wove all those stories together, eventually bringing them all back. Well done, and I was very glad to hear that Becky has a daughter--another future Shopaholic--we just couldn't have it any other way!

Rating: 4/5

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?
written by Melissa Kantor



This book was written in a very easy-to-relate, lighthearted way, highly reminiscent of everyone's favorite The Princess Diaries! The metaphors in this were extremely effective, and I'm really not one to say that lightly. When they were used, they were used in such a way so as not to be distractive, but to genuinely contribute to the writing. They don't seem forced in the slightest. The characters frustrated me for a while, and I was unable to see where they were coming from (particularly the basketball loving, popularity seeking main character), but soon, I did grow to tolerate them, some more than others. One thing I really loved about this book was that the main romantic interest was not incredibly obvious from the start. He was introduced subtly, although in the end, he seamlessly blends in to the rest of the story. Kantor not only breaks the cliches, she addresses them quite clearly before doing so, written in a very 'in your face' manner. I didn't like the title, and it wasn't actually the length of it that disturbed me--it was the fact that while, yes, she was looking for a prince, for the majority of the book, she was convinced she already had a 'prince' and the focus was more on the stepfamily than anything. Still, I loved it. I didn't agree with everything the characters said or did, but in the end, everything was adorably charming and thoroughly lovable.

Rating: 4.5/5

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart
written by Deb Caletti



While Honey, Baby, Sweetheart occasionally delivers an adorably quirky phrase here and there, it is ultimately in the same boat as Juno--filled with horrible metaphors that just don't fit in and sound incredibly forced, with the most predictable ending possible. Every page you turn, it's never-ending metaphor after metaphor. If I wanted that, I'd go read Shakespeare. I wrote down a full page of predictions of a piece of paper while reading, and every last one came true. As the end approached and Lillian and Charles reunited, I had written "Oh, yay, finally a book that does it right!"...only to have my hopes completely crushed by the end. What the heck, Deb Caletti? Can't end a book happily, just *have* to include a death? Horribly disappointing.

Rating: 1/5

Can You Keep A Secret?

Can You Keep a Secret?
written by Sophie Kinsella



While at the basic core of it all, the plot is an interesting and enjoyable one, that's really all it is--basic. There are no subplots, and plenty of minor characters that could have had interesting stories. Kinsella's storytelling has, no doubt, developed over time, as Remember Me? certainly had subplots. Still, this is not her best work. It was easier to get into than the other books, starting off very interestingly while the others took a while to really get interesting. It's definitely a good premise (if not highly Queen of Babble-ish, although I'm pretty sure this came first), and was delivered well, just lacked oomph. It's all told in a little bubble though, in her office and small parts elsewhere. Just a little too little.

Rating: 3.5/5

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Where the Sidewalk Ends
written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein



Like this amazing book actually needs any more praise showered on it. (Well, it's going to get it anyways, so it had better learn to live with it!) Can anyone say anything negative about this book? (well...other than the book banners, but we all know very well what humongous Delusionals they are.) Anyways, everyone's read this book (and if you haven't, then dear, I really do pity you and your lost childhood) and everyone knows how amazing it is. The second and third and fourth rereads only give you more adorable things to catch. It's funny--when I last read this book, I was much younger, and the poems that made me laugh most were the ones involving nose-picking and the like. Now, some of my reactions were the same, but others were completely different. The poem on which the title is based, Where the Sidewalk Ends, is now an amazing, new poem, as is Forgotten Language, which actually had me shed a few tears. But it's not all sentimental. SARAH CYNTHIA SYLVIA STOUT (yes, it has to be capitalized. Just doesn't have the same effect otherwise) is still as laugh-out-loud hilarious as it was when I had to memorize it for an elementary school poetry project. For Sale will still have me half shuddering, half laughing, as I remember my own brother shouting, "Sister for Sale, Sister for Sale!" after reading it. Some are just stories, some are wise outlooks on life. All of them are sure to guide children from a happy childhood into a happy adulthood, and it's one of the most worthwhile reads you'll ever find.

Rating: 5/5

The Lexicon

The Lexicon
written by Steve Vander Ark



Okay, so The Lexicon. The book that prompted a legal battle that pretty much split the fandom. A lot of trouble to get one book published, and in my humble opinion, it was worth it all. While it has its small problems, The Lexicon is THE Harry Potter superguide we've all wanted for so many years. The fans will like it, the newer readers just getting into the series will certainly appreciate it, and any re-read will have to be accompanied by this invaluable encyclopedia. Not all of the information is included, and the organization is not the best (It is, as in any encyclopedia, alphabetical, but I wonder if it should have had more effort put into the categorization. After all, chances of me going to look up 'abstinence' instead of a simpler 'passwords' are very, very slim.) Of course, not all the information is included, and you'll have to dig a little to find what you're looking for, but you will find what you're looking for. In a nutshell, essential for fanatics, essential for new fans, but ultimately, it is the website you should be consulting.

Rating: 4.5/5

Paperquake

Paperquake
written by Kathryn Reiss



This book is both highly unique and easy to relate to at the same time, as Kathryn Reiss is quite a genius at writing stories with both qualities. It is very interesting to read a story about triplets, as opposed to the standard twin stories. The dynamic is completely different and Violet's take on being an outsider, a 'Baby' was truly insightful. It's the mix of genres that sells this book to me. I very publicly despise Historical Fiction novels, but this isn't really a HF book. It certainly has those elements with the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, but there's plenty of mystery along the way, as well as your typical YA realism, a girl growing up and making her way through life. There's something for everyone and it's truly great, Reiss seamlessly blends all these great genres together. As well as weaving genres together, the storylines are beautifully interconnected, with a big end reveal that was well worth the wait. There's not enough praise I can shower upon this book--it really doesn't get the recognition it deserves--from the great characters to the amazing title. The only complaint I really have is a nitpicky format one-the text is obnoxiously tiny, but that's just my copy.

Rating: 5/5

Leftovers

Leftovers
written by Laura Wiess



Rarely before has such poignant and beautiful writing been seen in YA literature. Laura Wiess paints a picture of two really messed up teens, written hauntingly in the 2nd person perspective. While some parts remain predictable, the book is cleverly crafted. The plot is twisted, but the delivery turns out weak, the whole "incident" everything led up to just doesn't feel as huge as it should (I was certain there would be a death involved...). Nevertheless, in the end, it's a book about the characters. The two girls, Blair and Ardith, whose spirits reside within ordinary teens today. Their scenes are emotionally evocative, downright scary at times, but every word rings true.

Rating: 4.5/5

Story of a Girl

reading next: Leftovers

Hey, look at that, I'm alive! I had no idea school would take such a toll on my, you know, life. On top of all that, I've got college stuff going on and everything is just crazy.

Nevertheless, I come to you with an awesome book today!

Story of a Girl
written by Sara Zarr



I certainly made the right choice by putting this on the very top of my want list! I was apprehensive, as I really disliked the plot Sweethearts, but the writing was spectacular, so I knew I had something to look forward to. From the very beginning, I was glad to see that this was a story about Deanna and her father. There were other conflicts, and they all blended together very well, but it was refreshing to see another YA book that didn't deal with the standard 'he loves me, he loves me not', instead exploring the very powerful relationship between a father and his teenage daughter. In the relationship aspect though, there's nobody in the triangle to be hated. You don't want Lee and Jason to break up. Any way it happens, it works. The only important part between the three remained intact: their friendship. The only nitpicky comment I have to make is that Deanna's 'letting go' was all too fast and wholly unrealistic. That just isn't the way life works. Nevertheless, it all happened with an extremely happy ending, something critically lacking from Sweethearts, which ruined that book for me, and left me loving Story of a Girl.

Rating: 5/5