Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
written by John Green and David Levithan



I don't know if I can properly express my love for this book. I'm a proud nerdfighter, so I've been looking forward to the day when John Green's new book would be coming out ever since I first heard about its existence. Upon reading it, I was kind of shocked. Sure, John Green's Will Grayson was a really great character...but David Levithan's will grayson, David Levithan, whose only other work I've read was a short story in Geektastic, made me want to jump into the book and give him a massive shower of hugs. And while John Green is responsible for the creation of Tiny Cooper, it's David Levithan's Tiny that really goes places. So anyways, one of the best things about these two authors is their authenticity. It's like they've grown up without having lost their teenage selves, and are fully able to capture those teenage emotions and write them into an emotionally moving story.
Give me another moment to fangirl over will grayson. I know many people have expressed an intense dislike of David's will's inability to use the shift key. But here's the thing: when depression strikes, it honestly feels like your universal shift key is missing, like nothing you can say deserves capitalization, or in a weird way, recognition and ownership. Your proper nouns are not important enough to be capitalized. So I found myself really relating to that lack of capitalization. Simply speaking, David Levithan broke my heart with will grayson, especially after bringing Tiny Cooper into will's story.
John's contribution to the story was okay, but I felt like it was the same John Green formula we've all seen already. Typical teenage guy, with his larger-than-life sidekick that takes him on a wild journey through the big wide wonderful world. The Love Interest, Jane, bored the heck out of me, and overall, though the writing was predictably spectacular, I was just disinterested in Will Grayson and his story.
I did not want this book to end. I felt like it incorporated every possible teenage high school problem that teens, real teens, have at some point had to deal with. I don't think it's possible to finish this book without wanting your own personal Tiny Cooper.
Anyone else desperately wishing for a soundtrack to this, with big, cheesy, over-the-top musical numbers? Youtube musical theater nerdfighters, get on that!

Rating: 5/5

Related reviews:
Paper Towns
Looking for Alaska
An Abundance of Katherines

Hello, World!

Hi everyone! I'm back!

Sooo, spring semester kicked my butt, needless to say. It's finally done as of yesterday, and I'm really glad to be [hopefully] back to blogging on a regular schedule. No guarantees, as I'm taking a "Maymester" at my school, where I have classes running through the 21st of May, but...oh, I really hope it lasts, I miss blogging soooo much!

So to kick off this rebirth of my blog, I'd actually like to go through an author event I attended last night! I went to my local library and got to see Lisa McMann, author of Wake, Fade, and Gone. I haven't read the third, but I did read the first two and LOVED them.

So let's see, I got to the library around 45 minutes before the event started. I returned a few books and checked some more out (including one by David Levithan!). I killed some time until the event, and then spent a good deal of time trying to find the location of this classroom where the event was going to be held.

I did find it eventually, it was being held in one of the museum's classrooms (our library is attached to the natural history & art museums). That was kind of cute, since there was an adorable picture of a dinosaur on the whiteboard.

We started the event as soon as Boothy (!!!) got there. We got the lecture about the sponsors of the event (PPG Industries) and they talked about some of the other authors they had hosted, which included Ned Vizzini, Hank & John (!!!!), Maureen Johnson, Avi, and David Levithan. With that being said, the librarian, Karen Brooks-Reese, introduced Lisa McMann!

Yesterday was a chilly day in Pittsburgh, so she opened the event talking about how she is from Arizona, where they are enjoying nice 95 degree weather. I don't think I could have been any more jealous at that moment. She also talked about being in Pittsburgh 20 years ago, and remembering our iconic bridges.

Lots of the questions she took the time to answer have been talked about on website (which kind of bothers me, as I feel it could be time better spent, but whatever, apparently that's just me :P) We had the obligatory "Why are you a writer/how does one get published/I am desperate to become a writer even though I probably haven't even written a book yet tell me how to do it because I'm not original enough to figure it out myself!1!!one!!" questions. (Am I being irrationally snarky? Probably. Sorry. This is one of my biggest pet peeves though, those writing questions. Google. Use it, people.)

I'm sorry if you're familiar with Lisa McMann and some of this information is repetitive, but here's what she took the time to talk about:
-She got the idea for Wake from a dream she had, about being in her husband's dream. This was one of the few times she wrote and later read her notes about her dream and thought it was a really interesting concept that could be expanded upon.
-Her original idea involved spying on people's dreams for revenge, but she felt stuck with that plot thread, so she then went to the idea of what if this was uncontrollable, what if the person traveling through dreams didn't even want to be doing so? And from there we got the trilogy we now know!
-She went through and summarized the books, which I'm not going to do, since you can find those at a countless number of places.
-She read an excerpt of Wake.

-She addressed questions, based on a system of which question received the largest applause. The clear favorite was a question about most embarrassing moments. For those, she began with some audience stories to sort of break the ice. We heard stories about accidentally sitting on a classmates head, walking around school with split pants (a story where a girl was ratted out by her father who was also attending, no less!), and a story about two people literally colliding into each other while they were reading in the halls. McMann then segued into her own story, which was about being in English class, sitting in the back corner, sneezing, and having a bit of a snot problem, resulting in the nickname "Gort Snort", as Gort was her last name at the time. She also told a story about wearing a snap button shirt and having that yanked open accidentally by a person she strongly disliked.

She then took the time to discuss her covers. Apparently, she had no say over the Wake cover, but loved it anyways. For Fade, she was given "consultation rights", where she'd basically be asked her opinion, and whatever it was, it'd essentially be ignored, but she'd still be asked. This resulted in a little bit of pink being removed from the cover before publication. For Gone, she was actually given the option of taking pictures of any chairs she found interesting. What is now the cover of that book is actually a photo she took on her cell phone!

She got a question about how books get turned into movies as well as the general publishing process, which, again, Google if you're interested.

She talked a little bit about her early promotion process, and how she'd reach out to fans of paranormal YA before Wake got published, on MySpace. She'd friend-request people she thought might enjoy her book and told them a little bit about it, which she says went a long way.

She also said that Janie & Cabel's story has been told, and she doesn't at the moment plan on telling more.

She was asked about what she was currently working on, which was a good transition to her reading from her two upcoming novels. She's going to have two books out in 2011, a YA Paranormal entitled Cryer's Cross about a girl's disappearance and its aftermath, out in February. The other novel is a dystopian fantasy, due out in fall 2011. This one is about a society where strength and intelligence are valued in teens, and artistic and imaginative personalities are punishable by death.

The final question asked about her process for coming up with character names. For Janie, she was just looking for an ordinary sounding name. For Cabel, a boy in her son's 3rd grade class inspired that unusual name. She also brought up the sort of "Cain and Abel" feel it has. Sometimes she just hits the baby name books for ideas, the name of 'Kendall' in Cryer's Cross was actually auctioned off, and some names are given with intended meanings in mind.

We then lined up to get our books signed (everyone who attended got a copy of Wake and Fade for free, which was kind of awesome, even though I had brought my own copy of Wake). I talked to a young lady from University of Pittsburgh, who had JUST read Lisa McMann's books and had found out about the event literally half an hour before it occurred! So awesome :D I got my books signed and got to briefly talk to her, and also got a picture taken with her:


Anddd then I basically ran out of there, because I was too much of a coward to actually talk to Boothy. Which is pretty sad, since I've been wanting to meet him since the good old Meg Cabot Book Club days. Ah well. All in all, a pretty wonderful experience :)

Alright lovely readers, that's where I end this one. I can't wait to share my thoughts on some awesome new books with you all :) [Hint: Um. I really truly appreciate the heck out of Tiny Cooper, and I can't wait to fangirl all about it!] Talk to you all tomorrow!

Long Live the Queen

Long Live the Queen
written by Ellen Emerson White



Ellen Emerson White wastes no time getting back into the swing of things in Long Live the Queen, the third installment of her series about Meg Powers, the President's daughter. Meg's back and enchanting as ever--she's always stuck out for me as being a non-annoying main character. As a person stuck in her situation, she had the potential to be a totally arrogant, ungrateful character, but thanks to White's great characterization, she's far from any of that. I was glad that the predicament that befalls Meg in this book didn't span throughout the whole book, allowing room for some fallout. The panic Meg goes through is portrayed very well through fragmented, frantic writing. I was very glad to read a girl survival story, as it is usually a boy character that is put through something like this in fiction. Meg's subsequent interactions with her friends and family, particularly brother Neal, are heartbreaking, and I will admit I teared up. It's a very simple, methodical plot progression throughout the novel. I did feel like there was much left to be said at its conclusion, and I was a little disappointed by that. I know it's more realistic this way, but it is a book, and I think it is not entirely unreasonable of me to expect a full conclusion. Regardless, it is, once again, a great book from Ellen Emerson White, and I can't wait to read the final installment in the series!

Rating: 4.5/5

Also in this series:
The President's Daughter
White House Autumn

I got this book from...:Chatham University's Jennie King Mellon Library

Full Tilt

Full Tilt
written by Neal Shusterman



This book starts off fast, wasting no time with detailed introductions. This does result in a bit of confusion at the beginning, but not to worry, it's all cleared up through the rest of the book. It's a real roller coaster ride (pun not really intended ;P) of a book, suspenseful and thrillingly spooky in all the right places. In terms of characters, some of them are really compelling, while others are left slightly flat. Unfortunately, one of those flat ones, in my opinion, was the main character, which made it a less interesting read. I was very glad to see two brothers so close in age as the main characters, I don't think we see enough brothers in contemporary YA fiction, and I'm glad someone out there is writing YA that is appealing to boys. Shusterman has quite the imagination, and he makes up in imagination what he sometimes lacks in the writing itself. The ending was a bit predictable and felt a bit like one of those "it was all a dream" scenarios, although it wasn't quite that drastically bad. Overall, cool premise, neat delivery, but it could have used just a little bit of tweaking here and there.

Rating: 4/5

Also by Neal Shusterman:
Everlost

I got this book from...:BookMooch

Scarlett Fever

Scarlett Fever
written by Maureen Johnson



The Martins are back in full force in this sequel to Maureen Johnson's 2008 release, Suite Scarlett! Scarlett Martin and her spectacularly quirky family are up to their usual funny business, snarky and sharply witty as ever. You thought Maureen Johnson was done with characterization? You were very, very wrong indeed. Characters that seemed to be developed to death got even more complex in their new storylines. I was especially glad to see more of Marlene, even though I found her "big reveal" to be underwhelming, but she was the most fascinating of the Martin siblings to me. There was an even more expanded focus on each sibling, but at the same time, the sibling dynamic is retained, and each character could be looked at as simultaneously an individual unit and a group. It's a rather complex plot, but it all really just comes down to this one heartwarmingly crazy family in the end. Johnson has quite the talent of making sure that her descriptive passages are interesting, rather than falling into everyotherauthor's trap of boring overly-long descriptions. It's a very low-key, laid back, calm, even toned book, even during big events. I did have to question the introduction of Dog-Murray, as he did just seem to be that stereotypical cute doggy sidekick, not serving any larger purpose. One thing I do have to point out--following Maureen Johnson through twitter, her blog, etc, made this really a more dynamic, interesting read. Somehow, having known her a little better, it's almost as if you can hear this crazy stuff that's on page, coming directly out of her, nodding your head all the while going "oh yeah, that's Maureen." Such fun! Next book, please?

Rating: 5/5

Cover:

Which do you like best?

or


Cause personally, I wish they'd gone with the latter. What do you think?

Also by Maureen Johnson:
Suite Scarlett

Devilish

I got this book from...:Borders

Booking Through Thursday

You may have noticed–the Winter Olympics are going on. Is that affecting your reading time? Have you read any Olympics-themed books? What do you think about the Olympics in general? Here’s your chance to discuss!

I am a proud Olympaholic. I love the games, I live for them for these few weeks. I have read Apolo Anton Ohno's autobiography, but I think that's the only Olympic themed book I have read. YES, they are impacting my reading time--I don't think I've read a single book since they've started =O

The Glass House People

The Glass House People
written by Kathryn Reiss



I don't know what it is about Reiss that I found so appealing when I was younger, but that appeal level has gone significantly down. I still do find some of her books to be positively fascinating, but really? She calls this a book? It begins slow and continues to be slow throughout the sequence of events. In comparison to Reiss's more supernatural books, this is a complete bore. It contains an obnoxiously simple and linear plot in which pretty much nothing happens. The entire book continues to basically be a broken record, with no real resolution, twists, anything much. It's unnecessarily melodramatic, and at multiple times I found myself uncontrollably laughing at the absurdity of it all, especially at what were supposed to be the more tense parts. The only well-developed truly round character in the story is Grandad, and he doesn't play much of a role at all until the unsatisfying end. This is not a book worth your time. I love her supernatural ones, but this really was nothing special.

Rating: 1.5/5

Also by Kathryn Reiss:
Time Windows
Pale Phoenix

I got this book from...:SwapTree

City of Ashes

City of Ashes
written by Cassandra Clare



I was not very satisfied by this volume of the Mortal Instruments series. I think it was summed up well by a friend of mine as just being a very weird book. The writing is unnecessarily melodramatic while the plot moves along quite slowly, except during the important parts, where it seems to zoom by too fast. For the most part, the characters are kept realistic, although they all do go through their brief moments of flatness. The cultural references are a fun addition, adding a bit of extra enjoyment throughout the book. Like I had said in my review of City of Bones, the love triangle is overdone, like so many other books. The additional drama with Simon's character seems ridiculously overdone to me, particularly the supposed vampire vs. werewolf drama, as if we needed more of that. The cliffhanger was crazy awesome, and I can't wait to read more, but by God, I hope we are done with the disgustingness that is Jace/Clary. I don't need to read about siblings who are madly in love with each other, I really don't. Anyways, looking forward to getting my hands on City of Glass, and, oh, one last thing. Dumbledore would so win in a fight versus Magnus, no questions asked!

Rating: 3.5/5

I got this book from...:Secret Santa!

Ten Things I Hate About Me

Ten Things I Hate About Me
written by Randa Abdel-Fattah



Ten Things I Hate About Me has plenty of positive aspects which outweigh the few faults it does have. It's a little predictable with Timothy's subplot, as well as the overall big deal of Jamilah/Jamie's identity. It's a little preachy at times, but the moments of preachyness do fit in with the plot. The characters are pretty well-rounded, and I particularly enjoyed the characterization of Jamilah's father. It's conversational and relaxed storytelling, and while the writing's not the greatest, it's still a good book. I know it's one I and many other girls, Muslim and non, can relate to, maybe on different levels, but relate nonetheless. The environment Jamilah has been brought up in is captured really well and again, is something people can identify with. It is pretty unique to read a young adult book about Muslim cultural identity, and I applaud Abdel-Fattah for writing the way she does. I enjoyed this book, much more than Abdel-Fattah's other book, Does My Head Look Big in This? I thought this one was more down-to-earth and relatable.

Rating: 4/5

I got this book from...:Library book sale

Vegan Virgin Valentine

Vegan Virgin Valentine
written by Carolyn Mackler



Okay, so here's the deal about Vegan Virgin Valentine. It's a good story, I won't deny it. It has interesting quirky characters and a good set-up with V being Mara's niece and all. The writing's pretty good as well. But here's what it's lacking--interest. Nothing much happens. It's all flatlined, really. The story plays a little too deeply into high school stereotypes, and Mara's just a boring character, reminding me of straight-A overachieving little Rory Gilmore. It's a cliche story, but it's still pretty cute. I was just a little saddened to see everything work itself out so conveniently, with no big climax or anything. The plot moves slowly, and it does come to a point where everything slowly, lazily builds up, but there's no explosion of a moment. It's as cool and laid-back at the ending as it is through the rest of the book. Not a bad story, just could have used a bit of life and energy.

Rating: 3.5/5

I got this book from...:Swaptree