Falling in love with Ned Vizzini

Be More Chill

So after I read "It's Kind of a Funny Story," which I reviewed here earlier, I was like, "Man. I like this Ned Vizzini. Let's see what else he's got." And this is what else he's got: "Be More Chill." It's about this dorky teenage boy that swallows a tiny computer that tells him how to be cool. I know, it sounds really nerdy. But it's NOT! It's amazing! Someday, I want to be able to write like Ned Vizzini. I read this book in two days. For part of that I was on the plane, and I was laughing out loud it was so funny, which earned me a lot of strange looks but I don't even care. I think I liked the beginning the best, before he swallowed the computer (the squip) and became all cool, just because Vizzini depicted high school life so accurately and hilariously. When he got all cool it seemed a little less real, but still, I loved it, and the ending was perfect. 8.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

Reading all I can before school starts...

The Alchemyst

Okay! So this is a book that came before one of the books that Tee reviewed earlier. It's by Michael Scott (the office! haha). It's about these twins and this magical adventure they get into. The book worked in a lot of real mythology and facts, which was cool. In theory, it kind of reminded me of "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman, but for younger kids.

However, "American Gods" is extremely well-written and this book was... not so much. I like it in theory, but I didn't really feel attached to any of the characters, which made me not care so much what happened. There were a couple of humorous moments, but overall I wasn't really feeling it. And it really started to irritate me that they kept calling humans "humani." Maybe I'm over-analyzing. I know Tee and my stepmom Michelle both liked it (read Tee's review of the third book in the series here), and I'm sure a lot of younger kids probably like it, but it just failed to make a connection for me. 6 pretzel bites.

KAY

More non-fiction (a memoir)!

A Wolf at the Table

This book, by Augusten Burroughs, is a true story about how crazy his dad is. He is, to quote the back of the book, "sociopathic." Burroughs has written several other memoirs as well. The ones I've read are "Dry" and "Running with Scissors" (his most famous one). Based on these books, Burroughs has earned a reputation for talking about how messed up his life is in a really hilarious way. However, "A Wolf at the Table" is not like this. There are some very funny lines, but overall it's not a funny book. It's kind of creepy. Plus, there are some things that happen to his pets which made me sad.

My problem was that it wasn't creepy enough. It kind of walked the line. There were some really intense moments where I'd get all caught up and start going, "Wow, his dad is a PSYCHO." And then there'd be a lot of heavy description and I'd lose interest a little bit. Plus, most of it was told from his point of view as a child and then towards the end it suddenly jumped through his adulthood which felt a little... rushed. Overall, I think if you're going to read just one Burroughs book, it shouldn't be this one. I prefer the other two I've read, not just for the humor, but also for the structure. I give it 7 pretzel bites.

KAY

For Whom The Bells Toll

Metallica;This Monster Lives
This is a relative rarity for our blog. A Non-fiction book! This was a book about the guy who shot the movie about the thrash metal band Metallica. It was pretty short only like 400 pages. It really gave me new respect for Metallica. They aren't as indestructible as their music says they are. Yes, the movie/Documentary is about them being spoiled rock stars. Their biggest problem wasn't moneyand none of them died. Their problem was that they just didn't like each other! Psh. Hetfield was getting drunk all the time and he was being a total control freak over lyrics and writing the all the music. Ulrich was just generally pissed off. Newstead had just exited from the band. Hammet was being a peace-keeper. There were little everyday problems for normal people. The band almost falls apart, which is like why? The biggest issue they had was Hetfield going to rehab for a year and everybody being in limbo. Check it out if your a serious Metallica fan. Otherwise do what i did. Get it in a college (used) book store for 2 bucks. Nice. 6 pretzels.

TEE

The Office?

The Sorceress
Okay, this is a book that totally kicks butt! It makes me want to have super powers! Okay i got a little ahead of myself there but this really is a good book. The weird and funny thing is they are written by Michael Scott? The Office? Ha!! No not really, but it is a coincidence.
Its the third book in a series of books beginning with the The Alchemist. Its basically about two twins who have magical powers and stuff which is really cool. They meet cool historical people ( HINT HINT Shakespeare). It gets a great 8 pretzel bites.

TEE

It was on sale..............

NEXT
For some reason i could only find an image of this in white but the copy i bought was green and yellow? Oh well i doesn't matter that much. It was another good Crichton book. It dealt with the issue of genes. But yet again he left a hole. Bigger than in State Of Fear. It has to do with the purple sea turtles if any body can help me with that post a comment. But I really liked it still. Unfortunately there isn't that much i can tell you without giving anything away. 7 pretzel bites

TEE

Fear?

State Of Fear
I love Michael Crichton. I just read his latest and unfortunately final book. (RIP)
I think this may be my favorite of his books. Its was accurately titled also. You'll find out once you read the book. His views of the media and the general world at large were so profound! And the way he precisely managed to sneak them in through crazy scientist and beautiful women. All sorts of guises. Typical Crichton. This one gets 8 pretzel bites. One thing that bothered me though is he left a small hole in the story. He does this in a lot of his stories. I don't know if its on purpose or if its just by accident. But its kinda odd how some characters seem to fall off the earth and are never heard from again. Oh well I'm not complaining it was a darn good book.

TEE

Sequel?

Hunger
Wow. This is the second book in the Gone series by Michael Grant.
The 1st book in the series was great. This one in truth was very sequel-like and it had big shoes to fill- i don't blame it cause they were probably size 8 shoes. Anyway I felt it kind of reached the apex of the story then just ended but not in a cliff hanger kind of way more in a let's hurry up and finish this kind of way. But i think there will likely be another sequel so that should work out nicely. All in all i give this a book a solid 7 pretzel bites. In case you haven't read the first one i will try to fill you in with out giving away too much stuff.
So basically all these kids are just sitting at school when all of the sudden all the adults and kids over 15 disappear. Everybody freaks out. Then they discover there is a giant dome around the whole countryside and it hurts to touch. So they have to learn to cope with all that. Its titled Gone. You should go check it out.

TEE