We are in your basement

Eh...

2010-08-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Twelve

For a long time, I kept coming across this novel by Nick McDonell in bookstores. It got to the point where eventually I just decided to read it, because I kept picking it up and I figured if it was so prominent it must be decent. There are several characters in the book, and we get just a glimpse into the lives of each of them, most of them rich high school kids. The character that's focused on the most is White Mike, a prep school kid turned drug dealer. The title "Twelve" comes from a drug of the same name that one girl gets addicted to. There could be other references to the number in the book (maybe the number of key characters?) but I haven't thought through it carefully enough to say for sure.

Overall, I was disappointed. Maybe it's just because the narration has an observer-type feel, but I didn't feel especially attached to any of the characters (although I can't help but notice that "The Great Gatsby" had an observer type thing going on and I still really liked that). I just... didn't understand the point of the book, I guess. Especially the ending. Obviously since it's selling so well, there are people that are getting something out of it, but I just wasn't one of them. I give it 6 pretzel bites.

KAY

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

2010-08-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

I just finished reading this book by Amy Bender which I borrowed from my step-mom. It's about a girl named Rose who can taste what people are feeling by eating food that they've made. It seems magical but actually hinders her quite a bit. However, even though this is the selling point plot aspect, I found that for a lot of it, that part sort of took a backseat, and instead the book concentrated more on Rose's family dynamic: Rose, her genius but extremely introverted brother, her enthusiastic but lonely mother, and her friendly but somewhat awkward father.

The first half of the book (the parts taking place when Rose is nine and twelve) I absolutely loved. The imagery was clear, the prose was lovely, the characters were complex, and the story was interesting. However, sadly, the second half I did not enjoy as much. It got into this weirdness with her brother, and I guess the characters started to feel farther away to me. There were still some really nice sections, but I just didn't enjoy it as much. I wish it had lived up to the fantasticness of the first half. Overall, I give this book 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

Classic reading, part two

2010-08-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

Sense and Sensibility

I decided to read this book because I'd never read anything by Jane Austen and I really wanted to! This is a classic about two very different sisters, Elinor (the reasonable one) and Marianne (the passionate one), who fall in love and have problems arise. In the beginning, I had to concentrate really hard to figure out what was going on just because of the way that it's written, but once I got past all the exposition, it got easier. Plus, the language is just so wonderful (for example, "'We may treat it as a joke,' said he, at last, recovering from the affected laugh which had considerably lengthened out the genuine gaiety of the moment"). I thought it was witty and interesting and quite enjoyable. I know some people don't like Jane Austen because they say her endings are too happy, but sometimes it's nice to read books with happy endings, don't you think? 8.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

A semi-classic

2010-07-29T20:07:00.001-07:00

Lucky Jim

My fake aunt gave me this book (a novel from the 50's by Kingsley Amis) for my graduation because it's her favorite. It's a British book about a slacker named Jim who is trying to please his boring boss in order to keep his job as a history professor. Things get a bit more complicated when he takes in interest in his boss's son's girlfriend. Madness ensues.

For the first chapter or so, I thought this book seemed kind of boring, but after a while I got a lot more into it. It's quite witty and funny. It kind of reminds me of "The Importance of Being Earnest," but they're not that similar. I think it's just the whole British comedy with an entertaining character taking interest in a girl thing. In the end, I really enjoyed it. I give it 8.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

A brief post from Paris

2010-07-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

The Book Thief

This novel by Markus Zusak was passed along to me after everyone in my family read and enjoyed it. It takes place in Nazi Germany and features a young German girl named Liesel Meminger. It follows Liesel throughout her childhood, looking at her brother's death, her foster family, her friendship with a boy named Rudy, her friendship with a Jew being hidden in her basement, and, of course, her book thievery. It's narrated by Death.

I loved this book! It's categorized as a young adult book, but I think it reads well for people of all ages. I thought it was interesting to look at World War II from a German perspective. It's funny at times and heartbreaking at times. The imagery is wonderful. The characters are complex. There are so many beautiful lines. Overall, it was just generally amazing. 9.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

After all the hype

2010-07-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

For months, I've been hearing about this novel by Junot Diaz and how great it is. The main character, Oscar, is a Dominican, overweight sci-fi obsessive who wants nothing more than to find love. The book follows Oscar throughout his brief life, and also tells the story of some of his other family members, like his sister and his mom. It also continually ties back to the Dominican Republic and Dominican culture.

After all the hype, I was expecting this to be one of the greatest books I'd ever read. At first, I wasn't really interested in it at all. I thought maybe I wasn't smart or patient enough to understand the greatness, or that maybe I needed to be more well-versed in sci-fi or Dominican culture. After a while, I started to enjoy it more. It was kind of funny/engrossing at some parts. In fact, a lot of times it reminded me of the book "One Hundred Years of Solitude," but I'm not entirely sure why, because I wouldn't really classify it as magic realism. Anyway, I didn't find it as amazing as the rest of the world seems to have. I also think the ending would have been better if the last chapter wasn't there. I give it 7 pretzel bites.

KAY

Finding Amazingness

2010-07-01T12:01:00.000-07:00

Looking for Alaska

This was the only book that I hadn't yet read by John Green (see reviews of his other books here and here), and it was definitely my favorite. The book is about a boy named Miles (nicknamed Pudge) who goes off to boarding school and makes mischief and new friends, specifically the girl who becomes his new obsession, Alaska. The book is divided into "before" and "after." Now, you may ask, "Before and after what?" Well, you'll just have to read the book and find out.

And you should. Read the book, I mean. It's funny, it's touching, and the characters are great. You'll learn lots of famous last words. John Green never underestimates the intelligence of his readers, which I greatly appreciate. He writes books that are enjoyable and easy to read, but still carry a lot of meaning. I loved this novel! An enthusiastic 9 pretzel bites.

KAY

Already excited for Oberlin!

2010-06-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

Await Your Reply

Summer time is finally here and I'm so excited to be reading again! I picked up this book, by Dan Chaon, because I'm going to Oberlin College in the fall where I want to study creative writing, and Dan Chaon is one of the creative writing professors there. Plus, oddly enough, he is good friends with one of my favorite high school teachers. I hope he doesn't leave before I get to have him as a professor because I was very impressed by this novel.

There are three separate story lines in this novel that eventually connect: Ryan, a college kid who just found out a big secret that's been kept from him his whole life, Lucy, a high school graduate who runs off with her former history teacher, and Miles, who has been looking for his missing and slightly insane twin brother Hayden for 10 years. Over the course of the book, the stories start to connect. At first, it is just in subtle ways, such as theme (the exploration of identity is a big one), but by the end, they are completely intertwined, and it's fun to find the clues along the way.

I suppose this is a suspense novel, but normally when I think of suspense novels, I think of a really exciting plot with lots of twists, but then characters and writing that are a bit shallow and underdeveloped. However, even through the plot twists, I feel like at it's core, "Await Your Reply" is still an excellent piece of literature. The characters feel real, and the prose is beautiful. I was very excited by this book, and I give it a solid 8 pretzel bites.

KAY

Let the summer reading begin

2010-06-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Atlas of Unknows

I finally finished my first book of the summer! It's a novel by Tania James about two sisters from India. The eldest, Linno, is an excellent artist, but her life hasn't exactly followed the traditional path, and she is haunted by her mother's death. The younger sister, Anju, is incredibly intelligent and wins a scholarship to study in New York, where things don't go exactly as planned.

I liked this book alright. It was written in a very slow and descriptive style, and I kept expecting to get more into it as the plot picked up and I began to connect more with the characters, but it never really happened. Plus, the ending wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked. I'm completely fine with loose ends, I just wish the whole story was given a little more meaning. I give it 7 pretzel bites.

KAY

Light reading with substance

2010-05-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Man of My Dreams

I first picked up this book because I read Curtis Sittenfeld's book "Prep" and really enjoyed it. Overall, I think I liked "Prep" better than this one, but this was still a good read. I know that from the title, it sounds all, "OMG I had a turbulent romantic history but true love will prevail!" but it's not really like that. I thought the characters came across as very real, complex, and relatable. What I really like about Sittenfeld's books is that they're really addicting and easy to read, but at the end I still feel like she has something of substance to say, which I really appreciate.

This is a book about a girl named Hannah and her ideas about love. It follows her from her junior high days up through her late twenties. I don't know how to easily sum up the plot, but I guess I'll just say it's about broken families, feeling abnormal, waiting, loneliness, and things not going according to plan. In the beginning, I thought I wasn't going to like it, because the junior high part feels a little... well, distant, I suppose, but after that it really picks up. Also, I thought the ending could have been stretched out a bit more. Everything was just wrapped up in letter form, which I didn't really like. But! These are just minor complaints. 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

Y.S.K.O.V.

2010-04-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

You Shall Know Our Velocity!

This is a novel by the wonderful Dave Eggers. The basic premise is this: the main character, Will, came into quite a bit of money by doing virtually nothing and he doesn't want it. One of his best friends since childhood, Jack, just died and, in addition, Will was just badly beaten up, leaving his face all gruesome looking. Will and his other best friend, Hand, decide to go around the world and give all the money away, but they only have a week to do it. I will let you know that this is not one of those books where they get to the first place and decide, "Actually, let's just stay here." They really do go several places.

The plot is not gripping, but that doesn't really bother me. The characters are amazing and the writing is beautiful. I love the character of Will. Basically, the whole book is just an extended look into his head and it's fascinating. The middle was the best part. I think it fizzled out a little bit at the end. Not that the end was bad, the middle was just better. Overall, if you're looking for gorgeous, quality writing with interesting characters, I fully recommend this book. 8.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

Michael Crichton

2010-04-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Airframe AND Timeline by: Michael Crichton

So i got both these books at a used bookstore about 4 months ago and didn't read them either until about two weeks ago. Then I blazed through both of them.

So: I have learned that Crichton tends toward starting his books with a few people that you never meet again. In this case its a couple who are hunting rugs in New mexico and they find a crazy old man in the desert who only talks in rymes. Next, they logically take the crazy guy to a hospital. He promptly dies as all of his organs fail on him. Cut to some Harvard researchers in the French Dordogne river region, where they are doing some archaeological dig for some medieval buildings. The private company they are being funded by suddenly calls in the leading proffesor. Buisness continues as usual

until the team uncovers an underground room and find a centuries old scroll with the proffesors handwritting on it. The rest of the researchers demand answers from the company. The company then reveals that it has acces to quantum time traveling equipment and the proffesor has been trapped in the past. So the rest of the researchers of course have to go back and save him. I liked the book well. It was about a good and contoversial subject. But I swear Crichton must have taken whole college courses on each book he wrote because he has such a wealth of knowledge on each subject that he writes about. It is a bit rediculous.
Finnal rating: 7 pretzel bites
Fun fact i wrote a book review of this for my teacher for extra credit and he though I didnt actually read the book. Really Mr. Weber?

Airframe Review: So as mentioned before this book starts off with a couple of people we never meet or hear from again. They are are on an airplane that experiences some "difficulties". The rest of the book is just the company trying to figure out what the heck happened. I cant tell you much more because it pretty much all important. Now i know everything about 1980s flight procedures and the FCC. Its pretty interesting and i had a hard time putting it down toward the end.
I give it a 8 pretzel bites

TEE

She's so dead to us

2010-04-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

She's So Dead to Us

This book, by Kieran Scott, is in the vein of such books as the A-list series and the Clique series, and I would imagine that if you liked those books, you'd like this one as well. The basic plot is this: formerly rich Ally Ryan suddenly had to leave town when her father caused her friends' families to lose millions. Now Ally's father is M.I.A., and she's moving back to her old town to live in a crappy condo and face the girls who used to be her friends. She returns to discover that a boy named Jake is now living in her old house and hanging out with her old friends. Ally likes Jake. Jake likes Ally. Ally's former friends do not like Ally and don't want Jake to be with her. Drama ensues.

I feel a little bit bad because we got this book specially from our friends and I didn't even really like it that much. The exposition seemed a little blocky. The characters were not as complex as I would have liked them to be. The plot was interesting, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I did get really caught up in it in the middle. Overall, though, I prefer my light reading to have just a bit more substance than this novel did. I will also warn you that it's meant to be part of a series, which means that at the end, nothing is resolved. There's just a huge cliffhanger. I give this book 6.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

I'm a Sarah Dessen expert now

2010-03-31T14:24:00.000-07:00

That Summer

Hey, pals. So I just finished this book by Sarah Dessen. It was the only one of hers I had yet to read, and now I have read her entire collection, which is a little nerdy, but also makes me really happy. For a more general review of Sarah Dessen books, read my review of "Along for the Ride" here. In this book, 15-year-old Haven longs for summers past, specifically the summer when her sister Ashley was dating the fun, charming Sumner. Now, Ashley's getting married to a boring guy named Lewis, her family's falling apart after her parents divorce and her father's marriage to his mistress, and Haven has just about had it. That's when Sumner shows up again, making Haven long for the past even more. This definitely wasn't my favorite Sarah Dessen book (you can see how her writing matures in her later books), but it was still a really nice short spring break read, and I liked that the ending wasn't picture perfect. I give it 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

I don't want to be a freshman all over again

2010-03-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Please Don't Kill the Freshman

This book is a memoir by Zoe Trope about her freshman and sophomore years in high school, about falling in love, about being gay, about getting a book deal, about feeling misunderstood. I first picked it up because someone told me that something I wrote reminded them of this book. It was meant as in, "The writing and characters are really good, but the public won't like it because there's no plot." So, of course, I had to be self-centered and go read the book that was supposedly like mine. The first thing I discovered, before I even started reading, was that on the cover there are comments from DAVE EGGERS and JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER saying how genius it is. If Dave Eggers and Jonathan Safran Foer loved something I'd written, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't care if the public did or not.

So yes. There's not really a plot. That didn't really bother me. It took me a little while to get into it, because a lot of times it's written kind of like poetry. It can be very cryptic. At first, I found the author irritating. Then, however, I hit a point where I couldn't put it down. I just wanted to keep reading. I still found it irritating in places, but it was just so beautifully written. There were several lines I had to reread multiple times because they were just phrased so perfectly. This book is definitely not for everyone, but overall it is a truly lovely piece of work. 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

Guess who's behind the times again?

2010-03-15T19:39:00.001-07:00

The Time Traveler's Wife

So, by this point, practically everyone's heard of this book by Audrey Niffenegger. However, for a really long time I had the impression that it was about women being abused in ancient China, and that was never something I was in the mood to read. I know. I have no idea why I thought that. Then I saw the trailer for the movie (which apparently is horrible and I have no intention of seeing) and thought the concept seemed kind of interesting. For those of you who have been living under a rock like me and don't know what it's about, there's this guy named Henry who every now and then just disappears and travels through time involuntarily. Not like, oh wow, let's revisit Germany and try to stop Hitler, but like, to parts of his own past and whatnot. He's been visiting his wife Clare (who does not travel through time) ever since she was a child, so they've always known that they were meant to be together, and the book is the tale of their lives together. A lot of it takes place in Chicago, which was nice because I was familiar with a lot of the settings.

In the beginning, this book was really intriguing. The whole concept and logistics of time travel really interested me, and it was strange to think about because, when it really comes down to it, they only met because future Henry told past Clare they were supposed to, and then Clare grew up and met Henry in the present and told him, "Hey, we're supposed to be together." Interesting, right? It must have taken a lot of planning on the part of the author, too, to get all the chronology to match up. After a while, though, it got into all this drama where they were trying to have a kid, which was more boring for me, maybe because I can't relate. Then at the end, it got really intense out of nowhere. I didn't find the ending all that satisfying. I think I lost interest a little bit in the middle. Anyway, I give this book 7 pretzel bites.

KAY

The andromeda strain

2010-02-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

So, yet another book by Michael Crichton. Guess what? I really like him. I swear I have learned more from him than all of my years of schooling. This book, The Andromeda Strain, is a classic. But I have to say, this is not one of my favorite books by him. Quite the contrary in fact, I think it may be my least favorite. For the sole reason it just seemed like he got tired of writing it and just ended it in the cleanest and quickest way possible. I believe he got sick of making up and researching obscure medical facts. Which I can't blame him for. I generally like the book, but, like I said, there were more serious medical and biological facts than I needed. In the final analysis Crichton writes a spellbinding novel with a seemingly real reality for all of his characters. So in concluion 8 pretzel bites.

TEE

Remember "The Lottery?"

2010-02-19T16:40:00.000-08:00

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

This is a novel by Shirley Jackson, who's the woman who wrote that short story "The Lottery" that so many people seem to be assigned to read in school. This book is relatively short; only 146 pages. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to the narrator, Mary Katherine (a.k.a Merricat) who is 18 but seems much younger. She lives with her older sister, Constance, her invalid uncle, Julian, and her faithful cat, Jonas. The village people hate Merricat and Constance, and for the most part the pair hide out in their house. The rest of their family was murdered.

Parts of the story were intriguing, and one thing I liked about it was that it was a little vague in what time it was set. There was no fantasy element, yet everything in the story felt a bit fantastical. I also think Jackson did an excellent job with her characters; they felt complex. I enjoyed the book, but it didn't thoroughly grip me. There's was one point where I thought there was going to be a major twist, and then... there wasn't. There were also times when I felt as though something was being built up to, and then whatever it was wasn't as big as I'd expected. I give this book 7 pretzel bites.

KAY

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in

2010-02-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

The Brooklyn Follies

Hmm. Let's see. How can I sum up what this novel (by Paul Auster) is about? It's not really about just one thing. It's about broken families, forgery, almost dying, actually dying, classic literature, and escape. That's a pretty nice collection of topics. However, I will start by saying that I found the narrator irritating. He was easily my least favorite of all the characters in the entire book. Perhaps because of this, I liked the shorter stories of the past within the main story better than the main story itself. I never found myself bored of the book. In fact, it was something I was often in the mood to read, and I enjoyed it while I was reading. That being said, I think it lost a little steam towards the end, and honestly, it failed to make much of an impression on me. I think, in the end, it just didn't make me feel much of anything. 7 pretzel bites

KAY

Economics for people who don't like economics

2010-01-31T17:23:00.000-08:00

Superfreakonomics

This is the second book written collaboratively by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, the first being "Freakonomics." I've read both books now, and they're both really interesting. Both of them are nonfiction books that use economic principles to discuss everything from prostitution to global warming to monkeys. I think a lot of people shy away from the books because they hear "economics" and it makes them think "numbers hfdsuig stock market vasuigriutwt economy crash iothsgnsoet boringness," but that's not what the books are like at all. They use economic terms (externalities, incentives, etc.), but explain them in a way that even if you know nothing about economics, you can still get a lot out of the book. If you're looking to read a chapter just to get a feel for the book, I reccommend "Chapter 3: Unbelievable Stories About Apathy and Altruism." That one was my favorite.

What I really like about these books is that Levitt and Dubner get so much information in there without making you feel overloaded. Whenever I flipped back to look at something, I always went, "Oh yeah, I forgot about this part! Oh yeah, and that part, that was interesting too! Wow, there was so much stuff in this chapter!" I learned about some subjects I knew nothing about and, additionally, got a new take on some subjects I was more familiar with. I would say don't read the book for the hook questions they advertise with ("Why should suicide bombers buy life insurance?" for instance), because the answers to those are usually not so interesting, but the other information that accompanies those answers is fascinating. I don't have the greatest patience for non-fiction, so it wasn't exactly the kind of book I couldn't put down, and I definitely liked some sections more than others, but overall it was a really interesting book, and I reccommend it to economists and non-economists alike. 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

Read this post and someone somewhere you dont know will die...........

2010-01-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

Okay so hopefully you people on the internetz (whoever you may be) have heard of the semi-recent movie, The box. Well the movie is total crap. Sorry Cameron Diaz you can NOT do a southern accent. But this isnt a blog about crap movies. The actual story the movie is based off is about 10 pages. Really short. Yes its true this is a collection of thrilling, creepy, mind blowing, short stories. Which all are really good! Well minus one. But there are always anomalies. Anyway this book really wants me to read more of his stuff. 8 pretzel bites

TEE

Darwin?

2010-01-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

Leviathan: Scott Westerfield

Yes, that Westerfield.
The one who wrote all the uglies and pretties and specials. Which are very good books (for the series i give em' a 8(don't tell anybody i sneaked you a double review.))
But i think he should stick with books like that. Steampunk and Scott. Well they just don't click. With that said the ending is very gripping. I have mixed emotions for the sequel. Seriously WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE OTTOMANS?! But the book in general took me a while to finish because the middle section was so long! I like the plot in general, who cant love genetically modified floating whales used as warships or star wars walkerish things? If you don't you have no soul :(
So probably 6.5 pretzel bites

TEE

Bookshaker!

2010-01-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

BONESHAKER
So. Ive started reading a new genre. Its called steampunk and the two books i just read are crazily similar. It is mucho frightening because they were both Christmas gifts. The whole steampunk genre is all about alternate history with some of the future thrown in. Boneshaker, is all about some kid whose dad destroyed Seattle then dies and he is trying to prove himself and stuff in this walled off city with zombies and the like. Fun huh?
I like Cherie's writing style but its not exactly what one would call unique. Yes its a good book. But i could also put it down. She does make very likable characters. I could relate in someway shape or from to one or more of the characters. So 6 pretzel bites

TEE

Mystery, jokes, and graduation

2010-01-21T15:29:00.000-08:00

Paper Towns

This is a book I got for Christmas by John Green. It's about this semi-nerdy kid, Q, who is infatuated with this girl named Margo. He goes on this crazy all-night adventure with her, and then she disappears. However, she leaves a string of clues behind her, and Q is determined to find her. I didn't like this book as much as Green's book "An Abundance of Katherines" (reviewed here), but it was still an entertaining and addicting read (a.k.a. I didn't sleep as much as I should have because I wanted to stay up reading). I just thought that Q's friends were a little more interesting than Q himself, and sometimes Q had a way of getting a little overly philosophical. While his musings were interesting, they were the parts of the book I liked the least. His friends got a little philosophical at times too, but I found those musings a lot more interesting and they made more of a connection with me. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the ending. However, I still recommend this book because I had a fun time reading it. Also, all the thoughts on high school graduation got me thinking about my (fast approaching) graduation, so it was nice to have that connection.

Random unimportant fact: there's this one character in the book named Radar, and the way he is described in the book sounded a lot like this kid in my class, so without meaning to I've started thinking about Radar and the kid I know as the same person. Anyway, I give this book 7.5 pretzel bites

KAY

It's electric!

2010-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

I just finished this classic book by Tom Wolfe. It's all about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, which is the group that essentially started the psychedelic movement. It's non-fiction, but it doesn't read like, "Oh, and then on this date, such and such happened fhush boring fact." It reads more like a novel. It was kind of hard to adjust to Wolfe's style at first, because it's kind of crazy and different (he used the style to add to the description of the LSD experience), but I got used to it. Apart from just having a great title, I found this book really interesting. All the characters are really fascinating and vivid. At first, I was not so into the book. Once Wolfe went back to the beginning of the story, I became more engrossed, though there were a lot of parts I had a hard time concentrating on. My overall favorite part of the whole book was the part about this guy named Sandy.

I have a lot of respect for Wolfe for compiling this massive amount of history, and then presenting it in an interesting way. I had to keep reminding myself that it was true, especially because at times it all seemed so surreal. The thing that bothered me the most doesn't even have to do with the writing, it has to do with the cover; it specifically says several times in the book that on the front of the Pranksters' bus it said, "Furthur," spelled just like that, with two u's. However, on the cover, it was written "further." Stupid complaint, I know. I just found it irritating. Overall, though, a fascinating story. 7.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

Splendid

2010-01-03T19:38:00.000-08:00

Splendor

To close out my winter break, I also closed out the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen by reading the fourth and final book, "Splendor" (click to see reviews of books two and three). I have to say, I had a really fun time with it. In the beginning, things were kind of calm and humdrum, but by the middle it got really intense and dramatic again. I was a little bored of Elizabeth by the end of the first book, but in this one there's a big twist in the Elizabeth story. By the end of the book, I found myself wanting even Carolina (who previously bothered me a little) to have a happy ending. And the ending is happy to some extent, but not all Hollywoody, cheesy, over the top, which I really appreciate. In fact, over the past day I keep returning to the ending, and the more I think about it, the more I think Godbersen handled it perfectly.

And speaking of Hollywood... usually I am completely against turning books I enjoyed into movies, but in this case I think I'm going to have to make an exception. These books could be such good movies if they were done well. The costumes would be gorgeous. A lot of what I like about the books is imagining the setting and way of life at the time, and I think movies could capture that really well. So, my final word on the Luxe series: it's a little soapy and girly, but it's also really fun and addicting to read. These were the perfect books for winter vacation. I give the final installment 8 pretzel bites.

KAY

Fahrenheit 45amazing!

2009-12-31T10:21:00.000-08:00

Okay so this is a classic by: Ray Bradbury and I must say wow I understand why its a classic. The whole idea for the book is just phenomenal and some of the (could be) quotes are so true. Then even speak for culture today. The whole basis for this book is firemen, which are now bookburners, there is one fireman named Montag who all of a sudden kind of comes to light in his mind what he is doing so then he struggles with these new idea and then everything hits the fan. Its great read it. End of story. 9 pretzel bites

TEE

I'm so envious of this writer

2009-12-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Envy

This is the third book in the Luxe series by Anna Godbersen (you'll find a review of the second book and more information about the series in general here). I didn't like this one quite as much as the second, but it was still really addicting to read. I did think that it felt a little more stereotypically romance novel-y than the last one. I don't want to give too much away, but basically all the problems that developed towards the end of the second book completely explode in this book. Every time I thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. There were several times throughout the book that I wanted to yell at the main characters, "WHAT are you doing?" So, overall, not quite as good as the last one, but the series overall is definitely really fun and worth reading. 7.5 pretzel bites

KAY

An abundance of awesomeness

2009-12-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

An Abundance of Katherines

I just finished this book by John Green that I got for Christmas. It's about this former child prodigy named Colin. He's dated (and been dumped by) 19 girls, all named Katherine. Just after his high school graduation, he gets dumped by Katherine XIX, who he's convinced was the love of his life. To shake him out of his depression, his (hilarious) best friend Hassan convinces him to go on a road trip, and madness ensues (I kind of just always wanted to use that phrase. There's not that much madness).

If I were to describe my feelings towards the book in terms of math (if you read the book, you'll see why math is appropriate), I would say they were like a segment of a downward facing parabola, where x is how far I am through the book and y is my enjoyment of the book. The graph is entirely in the first quadrant. To say that in non-mathy terms: in the beginning, I wasn't so sold on this book. For starters, I didn't like the cover. By the middle, I loved it. I didn't like the end so much. I think I generally place too much emphasis on endings, but this one felt a little too perfect. The middle, though; the middle was wonderful. It was funny and contained all kinds of true interesting facts, and there were some lines in there that I had to stop and reread a couple times because they were so well-worded. The characters were real and entertaining, and I thought Colin was totally relateable, despite the fact that I am not a former child prodigy who has been dumped by 19 Katherines. I give it 8 pretzel bites.

KAY
Okay so I (TEE) gave this to KAY for an X-mas present and of course i had to read also. I have read all of John Green's books. He as a fact is a really good writer. Also this is my favorite book of his. Mostly because of the premise. 9 pretzel bites. That is my short paragraph.
TEE

Liar liar?

2009-12-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

Liar

Okay, so this book (by Justine Larbalestier) is a shocker not going to lie. Be prepared, in part 2 to have the pants scared off of you. So essentially the premise for the whole book is there is this girl and she is a compulsive liar, so for a while she just gives you backround story about her life. But the things get really "hairy" (you'll understand if you read the book!) after her secret boyfriend is brutally stabbed to death in central park. Then she makes some unlikely friends and then comes part 2 and then part 3, but revealing anything about those sections would totally give away the whole book. So just go out and read it. Its really a page turner, took me no time at all to finish it because I was so enthralled. I will say this though, at one point or another you are going to end up saying to your self "What the heck?!" Trust me. It takes some odd turns. Not are they always for the best. So i would give it 8 pretzel bites!

TEE

The gossip girl of the 19th century

2009-12-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

Rumors

This is the sequel to the book "The Luxe" by Anna Godbersen. These books are so addicting and fun to read. I don't want to give too much away for those who haven't read the first one, but the books track the various love stories, scandals, etc. of some high society people living in New York in 1899. This book opens with a wedding scene, and you know Henry is getting married, but you don't know to who. It sucks you in right away.

My friend called the series "the gossip girl of the 19th century," and I think that's a perfect description. However, even though "Gossip Girl" is entertaining, it also kind of makes me feel like an idiot. With the Luxe books, that doesn't happen. Godbersen doesn't underestimate the reader; she's not afraid to use big words. I really like her descriptions, because she allows you to get a clear picture in your head, but her descriptions aren't so long that they make you bored. Also, you can tell a lot of planning went into the books, because there are so many minor characters and connections.

Plus, I like hearing the descriptions of 1899 high society, and I also just like looking at the dresses on the book covers. So, overall, it's kind of girly, but really fun to read and you will definitely get sucked in. My step-mom and I have been talking all about the books and our favorite characters, etc. all week. I give it a solid 8.5 pretzel bites.

KAY

winter break = reading

2009-12-20T14:59:00.000-08:00

Teen Angst? Naaah...

This is a book by the infinitely entertaining Ned Vizzini (I've been reading a lot of him lately). It's made up of essays that he wrote about his life when he was in junior high and high school. The book was easy to read, and I found myself wanting to keep reading. There were a couple funny parts, but overall I didn't find it as entertaining as his novels (both of which were reviewed earlier here and here, and which I highly recommend). Plus, a lot of the essays didn't have much of a story, or carry much emotion. At the same time, though, I do really love Ned Vizzini, and he's totally relateable, especially because the end of the book dealt with a lot of stuff that I'm going through now (college apps (which I should probably go work on), etc.). Basically, I think you should definitely read both of his novels, and if you want to read this book you can, but it's not like a must read. 7 pretzel bites!

KAY

Storyline exausted....

2009-11-02T17:27:00.000-08:00

Angles and Demons is the prequel to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I had not read The Da Vinci Code when i read this book which i though was very cool because I had no idea about what Robert Langdon (The main character) was like. I came to this book witha totally fresh idea of what it was going to be like. Well actually thats not true. I did watch a two hour long history channel special on it. But that was mainly about the age old clash between science and religion. But I digress. The book was very well written and contains lots of elements that a good book should have. But... it was lacking. It was very stereotypical, The good guy was an a diver a harvard proffesor a real all american. The villian was some heathen from eastern Europe. The "girl" was some exotic girl who must be saved. But in the end the good guys win. It was fairly boring and rather disappointed with the storyline. But there was a few twists in the plot and at times it was rather exiting. So i suppose 6 pretzel bites

TEE

The one book I've managed to finish since school started!

2009-10-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

This is a book translated from French by an author named Muriel Barbery. It has two main characters. The first is a concierge in a fancy apartment building in Paris. She's really smart and loves to read Tolstoy and watch obscure Japanese movies, but she tries to hide all this from the residents of the building. The second is a 12-year-old girl who lives in the building. She's a loner and a genius. She's decided to kill herself on her 13th birthday, unless she can find something before then that will convice her not to. The two alternate telling the story, which is mixed with lots of philosphy and general reflection on life. The book is a little slow in places (especially in the beginning), but gets more interesting when this mysterious Japanese guy shows up.

The book wasn't meant to be a comic work, but there were some really funny lines, and those lines were made even funnier due to the fact that the humor came unexpectedly. I'm reading a Dickens book for school right now, and the humor in this book kind of reminded me of Dickens humor. You're calmly reading and then you have to stop for a second and go, "Hey! That was actually really funny! Well done, writer!" There were also some really beautiful, thought provoking lines.

The ending of this book made me really angry at first. I really didn't think it should end like it did. But once I read the very last chapter, I wasn't quite so mad any more, and I decided that I suppose the ending kind of did work. Plus, Barbery's overall theme is a theme I use a lot when I write, so I can get behind her on that one. 7.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

the movie vs. book dilemma

2009-09-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

I really hate seeing the movie before I've read the book. Then, when you read the book, it's totally distracting because you keep comparing the movie to the book. It's especially bad if you just watched part of the movie on HBO a day before reading the book. Unfortunately, with "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, this is exactly what happened to me, because I didn't know there WAS a book when I saw the movie. If you haven't seen the movie yet, READ THE BOOK FIRST. This is ALWAYS the way to go. And in this case, the book was completely different from the movie apart from the basic concept. Both the book and the movie have their merits, and I enjoyed them both, but sometimes the book characters seemed a little more complex and real, especially Nick's ex-girlfriend Tris, which I appreciated.

Alright! For those of you who have neither read the book nor seen the movie, it's about two straightedge, music obsessed, bridge and tunnel kids from Jersey, both of whom are getting over some messy relationships. Know what their names are? Nick and Norah! That's right! Basically, the book is about this long, eventful night they spend together in NYC. I really enjoyed it. It was funny, and witty, and once I stopped comparing it to the movie (it's hard! get out of my head, Kat Dennings and Michael Cera!) I had a lot of fun with it. It's one of those books where by the end you're so jealous of the characters, because you want a night as amazing as that, and additionally, you really wanna know the characters, because they seem like they'd be fun to hang out with. I give it 8 pretzel bites!

KAY

And I'm back.

2009-09-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

Old School

Not to be confused with the movie "Old School," this is a novel by Tobias Wolff. I read it right after rereading his memoir "This Boy's Life" for school (Just a note: "This Boy's Life" is excellent and I highly recommend it, but since this time I was reading it for school, I've refrained from reviewing it. I like to keep my school reading separate). "Old School" is about a boy who goes to prep school on scholarship in the 60's. He wants to be a writer, and the book centers around the writing competitions that are held to win a private audience with famous visiting authors.

It was interesting to read the book right after reading Wolff's memoir, and I couldn't help but put him in the shoes of the main character (something you're generally not supposed to do, and an issue that is actually addressed in "Old School"). I know that Wolff also went to prep school on scholarship. I just couldn't help but wonder how much he drew on his own experience. Not for the plot so much, but just the underlying emotions. Anyway, "Old School" was great. It's pretty short, and it keeps you reading. It was fun to read Wolff's depiction of the various famous authors and the experience that comes with reading each of them. The way he talks about writing is really interesting, too. And the short story within the book, "Summer Dance," was really good, at least the pieces we got. It reminded me of Salinger.

My only complaint is that I wish it had ended about 40 pages earlier. Maybe the ending wouldn't have been as tied up, but I feel that the section where the main character is no longer in school gets a little off track and isn't as interesting to read. Overall though, great book. 8 pretzel bites!

KAY

Falling in love with Ned Vizzini

2009-08-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

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...

2009-08-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

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)!

2009-08-10T22:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-08-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

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..............

2009-08-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

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

Because it's one of my favorite movies

2009-07-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Fight Club

I was a little bit mad at this author (Chuck Palahniuk) because I read his book "Choke" and I was really disappointed. However, "Fight Club" is one of my favorite movies, and I figured I should read the book that it was based on and give our pal Chuck another chance. For any of you who don't know, "Fight Club" is about a man whose life is kind of stuck who goes on to help form a club where men beat each other up and the madness that ensues (and quite a lot of madness ensues). That synopsis was very brief, but I don't want to give anything away.

"Fight Club" is worth reading (also, I just liked reading the author's note at the end about the history of the book). First of all, it made me realize just what a good job they did with the movie, and how cool they made it visually. They could have totally screwed it up, but they didn't. For the first 3/4 of the book or so, the movie follows pretty closely. However, the endings get a little different. Two guys I know were arguing, because one of them said the movie ending was a cop out. And the other guy said that the book ending was kind of a cop out. You decide. I think I like the movie ending better, but hey, maybe it is a cop out.

While I was reading "Fight Club," I had a lot of people tell me, "Oh, I didn't like the movie. It was too violent" or "I didn't understand the movie. I bet the book would be easier to understand." And to that I say: 1. Yes, it's violent. That's part of the point, and that's part of what makes it good. 2. The movie is much more clear-cut than the book, so don't look to it for simplicity. The book is very cryptic in some places, but I think that really adds to Palahniuk's overall style and makes the book more interesting. Chuck redeemed himself a little bit. 7.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

I love Sarah Dessen

2009-07-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Along for the Ride

I just finished reading Sarah Dessen's newest book, "Along for the Ride." To give a basic plot summary: a girl who's always kind of kept to herself and been overly caught up in school goes away the summer before college, meets a boy, learns some things about herself, etc. As far as Dessen's books go, this character (Auden) has been the one I've been able to relate to the most. It wasn't my favorite book of hers, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it a lot. It's definitely worth reading. If you haven't read any Dessen before, I'll let you know that she constantly makes subtle (or not so subtle) references to characters/events in her old books in each of her new ones, so if you want to pick up on those, you might want to read the books in the order they were written. Some of the earlier stuff you can take or leave, but I definitely recommend "Someone Like You," "This Lullaby," "The Truth About Forever," and "Just Listen."

Okay. Now I just have to talk about Dessen's books in general. I always end up reading them the same way. I start out reading fast, because they're so easy and fun to read. Then I hit a certain point and I realize that I am now in a Sarah Dessen mood and don't want to move on to reading anything else, and then I start reading extremely slowly to make the book last as long as possible. This is not easy to do, because I really want to keep reading it quickly. Here's the thing: her books are predictable. They follow a sort of formula. They're a little cheesy. But you fall completely in love with them anyway. They're like Disney movies. You know how things will turn out, but you find yourself completely engrossed and enjoying yourself anyway. Plus, I have a lot of respect for her in that she can create these realistic teenage girls that I can totally relate to, and that she's writing teen fiction that's not all trashy and ohmygodyousleptwithmyboyfriend. Basically, I think Sarah Dessen rocks, and I give "Along for the Ride" 8 pretzel bites.

KAY

This book became popular a really long time ago, but...

2009-07-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I know, how behind the times am I? My family lent me "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (by Khaled Hosseini, the author of "The Kite Runner") about a year ago, and I just now read it. Anyway, for those of you who don't know, this book follows two characters, Mariam and Laila, who live in Afghanistan. It begins when the Soviets are in power and ends after the Taliban is gone, so it covers a pretty large stretch of time. I think some books that take place over long periods can get really slow and boring, but this book wasn't like that at all. In fact, I had to stop myself from flipping ahead to see how certain situations would turn out. The pacing and style of the book were very similar to "Kite Runner," but I liked this one better. Part of that could be due to the fact that it was easier for me to relate to the female characters.

One interesting thing about this book is that although by the end the time period is pretty close to the present, it still seems like it's happening such a long time ago, because living situations in Afghanistan are so different from the U.S. Obviously, I knew customs were different in Afghanistan, but I don't know if I ever fully considered how different they were so recently.

I expected this book to be completely depressing. It wasn't. It was sad, certainly, heartbreaking in places. However, depressing, to me, equals painful to pick up and read, and this book wasn't. I found myself loving and rooting for the characters, and in the end, there is a bit of hope. 8.5 pretzel bites!

KAY

UGGGG

2009-07-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Civil Action

Wow just got done with a big read. Civil action by Jonathan Harr. All i can say is wow. I now know way more than i ever wanted to know about lymphoma and bankruptcy. It was a totally true story unfortunately. It wasn't really well written it was basically a 500 page book of facts. It was basically just painful to get through. So this sad little story gets a pitiful total of 4 pretzel bites.

Tee

Latest summer reading

2009-07-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

The Lie

Alright. I just finished reading this book by Chad Kultgen. Let me give you a basic plot summary: Boy likes girl. Girl is actually completely materialistic. Boy's best friend just loves demeaning women in general. Everyone tries to ruin each others' lives.

I was a little disappointed by this book. The back makes it sound really intriguing and intense. In reality, a majority of the book was pointless descriptions of sex. The characters all seemed shallow and one-dimensional. I hated all of them. I understand what Kultgen was going for: a story where there is no hero, no happy endings, something to confuse and challenge the reader. And I guess he accomplished that, to some degree. It was an easy book to get through, but overall I was disappointed, and got a little bit scared of college (although I'm pretty sure it's not actually the way it's portrayed in this book). 6 pretzel bites

KAY

Good summer reading

2009-07-04T09:25:00.001-07:00

Airhead

I just finished reading this book by Meg Cabot. I don't think it's my favorite of hers (that's probably "All American Girl"), but it was still a good, fast, light summer read. It's one of those perfect books for when you're just lazing around, and there were lots of very funny parts. It's one of those books you could sit around reading all day and still be enjoying yourself. Basically, it's about this girl who's always been nerdy who suddenly ends up as a supermodel (for reasons I won't get into).

I have to say, it's a little frustrating when you know/figure something crucial out before the narrator, and that's what happened with this book. Then you end up reading these big long sections where the narrator's like, "What is going on?" and you're like, "C'mon, figure it out already," and that can get a little old. However, that's not totally the author's fault. I guess it's more my fault for reading the back cover. The other complaint I have is that not a whole lot happened in the book. Not that that's always a bad thing, but this mostly just felt like a lot of intro. Then again, that also makes sense, since there's a sequel that I'm sure Meg Cabot wants people to go read now. I'll add it to my list of sequels I'd like to get to. 7 pretel bites!

KAY

A review of...

2009-07-02T13:04:00.001-07:00

Franny and Zooey

Alright. So this book, by one of my favorite authors J.D. Salinger, was divided into two sections. Can you guess what they were called? If you guessed Franny and Zooey, you're right! They're brother and sister (Zooey is a guy), and the book is basically about this mental collapse Franny suffers and her resulting interaction with Zooey. The Franny section was pretty short (originally the two sections were published seperately in "The New Yorker"). I liked the Franny section a lot better. It was similar to a lot of Salinger's other short stories. I really like and respect the way he can create stories by giving weight to these moments that could be deemed insignificant. He makes you feel like you know a lot about these characters while giving very little exposition or direct description, which is pretty amazing. A lot of his work (Franny section included) has that beautiful heartbreaking effect which all my favorite books seem to have.

That being said, I didn't like the Zooey section quite so much. I think it got a little wordy and slow. I'll tell you right now that nothing really happens in this book, which can be okay, but sometimes gets a little hard to read. If you've never read Salinger before, don't start with this book. In fact, I don't think I would recommend reading this book at all unless you've read "Nine Stories," which is his amazing collection of short stories. If you have read "Nine Stories," then "Franny and Zooey" is interesting because it deals with the Glass family, the family of a few characters from "Nine Stories" (Boo Boo and Seymour). Overall, I give it 7 pretzel bites.

KAY

So I just finished this book called...

2009-06-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Here's basically what it's about: this high school kid is extremely depressed, cracking under all this pressure, and about to kill himself, and he ends up in the mental hospital. I know, it sounds like a complete downer. Here's the thing: it's not. It's actually a really funny book. At the same time, though, the author (Ned Vizzini) doesn't take the issue of depression too lightly. But he also doesn't make it sound overly dramatic and fake. That is hard to do.

This is one of those books that you don't get bored of. You want to keep reading it. I have to say, I liked the first third or so of the book (before he ends up in the mental hospital) better than the rest because it was a little more real and easier to relate to, but I definitely never got sick of reading. Throughout the book, I was constantly relating to the main character. A lot of the issues in his life are similar to the issues in mine, and I bet a lot of other teens would agree. He's a character that's very accessible, and uses just the type of humor that I enjoy. In fact, a lot of the book sounds like something I might have written (although Vizzini is a much better writer than me, obviously). I give this book 8 pretzel bites!

KAY

yet another review!

2009-06-19T12:46:00.001-07:00

The Lies Of Locke Lamora
Okay so this book was really good its a debut album by a writer named Scott lynch. He obviously worked on this one for quite a while and there will definitely be a sequel he just left way to huge of a cliff hanger. I do have to say i am waiting with a slightly baited breath for the next one! Anyway is basically about a medieval group of con artist named the Gentlemen Bastards. Of whom the leader is a rather mysterious boy named Locke Lamora. It was a thrilling but quite long took me a week to finish it and i wasn't hurrying. It definitely gets 9 pretzel bites. So go to your local library pick it up and please do not out it down until your hungry then go eat some actual pretzel bites then finish the last of the book.

TEE

Also as promised another book review!

2009-06-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Firm

So basically this book was about a young full of ambition lawyer who is in the top of his class at Harvard and he gets recruited by a very private exclusive law firm based in Memphis. All the lawyers are very wealthy they all drive Ferrari or Bentley. This appeals greatly to the main character because he comes from a poverty family and his brother is a convict They have an exactly zero turnover rate. This as discovered by the main character and hero Mitchell Mcdeere is entirely because everyone who wants out gets killed in very suspicious circumstances. Then the F.B.I contacts him and things just go down hill from there, It was a great read very mysterious and full of intrigue. Just my kind of read. plus i love John Grisham's thrillers. So i would say about 8.5 pretzel bites

TEE

As promised: a book review!

2009-06-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

Everything is Illuminated

This is the second book I've read by this author (Jonathan Safran Foer). The other, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (I know you're supposed to underline book titles but I can't figure out how to do that), is one of my favorite books. That one gets TEN pretzel bites. Go read it. I didn't like this one quite as much, but I still enjoyed it a lot. Part of it is not entirely Jonathan Safran Foer's fault. "Everything is Illuminated" is not a Holocaust book in the traditional sense, but it does deal with the subject quite a bit, and I feel like these horrible things like the Holocaust and slavery have been written about so much in such a mediocre way that they don't feel as big or as important as they ought to.

That being said! Jonathan Safran Foer is not a mediocre writer. Far from it. Actually, he's one of the three writers that I respect the most. He has a way of writing things that are beautiful and funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I think sometimes his writing actually borders on something beyond storytelling, something more like visual art. Also, even though this book was kind of about the Holocaust, it also kind of wasn't. It's like the Holocaust was just a jumping off point to show how big life can be.

The book had two alternating sections. Part of it was this sort of magical realism thing Jonathan (the character) wrote about his family history. I liked that because it sort blurred the line between what was believable and based in reality and what was just complete fantasy. In this section, I found the word "crespucular" (one of our SAT vocab words which I thought was completely worthless. I guess he proved me wrong). The other part was written by a character, Alex, who didn't speak English very well, so it was all a little off in this hilarious kind of way that sometimes ended up sounding really nice. For example, he says "KGBing" instead of "spying" which I think I'm going to start using now.

So! In summary: I wanna be Jonathan Safran Foer. I wanna use the word KGBing. This book is beautiful and funny and heartbreaking. 9 pretzel bites!

KAY

HOLA future amigos!

2009-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Chica chica what up. Okay. But on a more serious note we like to read and we will post reviews about the books we read. We will rate them on a scale of one to ten pretzel bites. Because they be delicious. Go tell your mom to go buy you some so you can stop sitting in front of the computer. Go hurry up you're becoming obese just sitting there. Your skin is getting pasty from the shallow glow of the monitor. After you're full of pretzely goodness, go read a book we reviewed.

KAY+TEE