Between Shades of Gray, Shut Out, and Bunheads

by noreply@blogger.com (Isabella)

Well, I read these books a little while ago (over a month), so I've forgotten some of the finer details that I may have wanted to mention in this triple review. The books aren't necessarily galleys anymore, and there might be a few spoilers, but here goes:
Between Shades of Gray; author Ruta Sepetys:
A Holocaust story that's not about the Holocaust, Between Shades of Gray describes how fifteen-year-old Lina and her family are put on a train to Siberia by the Soviet secret police. Lina's father is separated from them, and she spends a long time wishing that they will find him alive. This was a powerful book. Sepetys's writing is simple but beautiful, and she's not afraid to make the book dark. However, I had a few problems with the book. To start, although Lina is an artist and sketches messages to her father throughout the story, none of these pictures appeared in the book. I was sorely disappointed to only have to imagine what her messages looked like. Then, the ending left me dissatisfied. It stops, then the epilogue says that Lina escapes the labor camp! I wanted to know what happened inbetween. The book had enough of a flow that another hundred pages to have her escape wouldn't have hindered it. Overall, I give the book a 3.8. It was like one of those shortbread cookies that have hard sugary icing on them, but without the icing. Tasty enough, elegant, but it could have used that little bit more. I've included a picture of these cookies in case you don't have a clue what I'm talking about.





Shut Out; Kody Keplinger:
In the school of Kody Keplinger's Shut Out, the football team and the soccer team have a vicious rivalry. This rivalry involves throwing eggs at each other and physically harming each other. Lissa, girlfriend of a football player, is tired of the rivalry and calls on all the girlfriends to band together and go on a "sex strike" until the boys quit their rivalry. Inevitably, though, she finds herself falling for Cash Sterling (who in their right name would name their kid that?), a soccer boy. I had a number of thoughts about this book, most of them not too favorable. First off, why doesn't the school administration EVER step in on this rivalry?? It's been going on for years, yet no one seems to do anything about it. Next after that was how NO ONE EVER DOES ANY SCHOOLWORK. Really. They're all in high school, yet they have hours and hours to fool around and/or have sleepovers, yet never seem to be in school. Okay, it's possible there were some homework scenes and some school scenes, but I can't remember them right now (I read the book a little while ago). Then there's a scene where Lissa and the girls are having a sleepover, and the boys pull off their shirts outside in the backyard to tempt the girls. Lissa notes that "these were some of the most athletic boys in school, which meant they had some of the best bodies. It was like a museum of muscled arms and six-pack abs on Kelsey's lawn." THAT IS NOT HOW IT WORKS. Just because a guy is an athlete does not mean he has amazing muscles. There is no "museum" at our school. Next point: while it's nice that the girls are able to talk so honestly about sex and they bring up interesting points, their conversations felt rather forced. Girls don't just sit around and have sleepovers where they talk about sex. At least, not in my experience. Perhaps the author has had a different experience.

Okay, deep breath now. This book did have some positives. There was definitely a girl-power element to it that I liked, and Lissa felt like a realistic and relatable character. She struggles with some control issues, has a job at the library, and has some boy problems. Some of the scenes between her and Cash were sweet, although a little overly sweet at times. I just didn't relate to this book as much as I imagine other girls might, which doesn't make the book bad. It just wasn't really my cup of tea in addition to not being a stellar book, hence the negative points above.
Overall, I'm not entirely sure how to rate something like this. On the number scale, it gets a 1.5, maybe a smidgen higher. Food-wise, it was a day-old Dunkin Donuts donut: it was pretty tasty at one point, but now it's fairly inedible (at least to me). If you like your donuts slightly stale, then hey, it's a snack.

Bunheads; Sophie Flack:
Hannah is a dancer; dancing is her entire life. She left her family at a fairly young age (the exact number is escaping me) to dance with the Manhattan Ballet, and her burning ambition is to be a soloist. She is starting to realize, though, that she may want something more than the high pressure world of ballet. Bunheads was something like the movie Black Swan in that it has a protagonist with a desire to rise to the top, except Bunheads was significantly less disturbing and had no mental breakdown and death at the end (sorry to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it. Don't worry. It will still be disturbing.)

I really liked how Sophie Flack built the world of ballet in her book; as an outsider looking in, it was fascinating and a little sad, given how anyone who doesn't have the typical "ballerina body" has extremely low self-esteem, and even those that DO have the body worry about their weight constantly. Hannah's joy whenever she performs is vivid, and something that readers can relate to even if they are not a dancer. I liked Hannah's progression as she wakes up to the outside world, but her final decision bothered me a bit. It felt somewhat like an all-or-nothing decision that left her staring at what she could have had, when she could have made a decision that was more in the middle. In addition, especially at the beginning of the book, Flack's inexperience as a writer shows; the writing isn't as good as it could be, though it improves as the story continues. Given her background as a dancer, this isn't exactly surprising (after all, dancing is a different experience from writing), but given this fact the book is still wonderful. There is one scene that I keep thinking about, in which Hannah is ruminating on a little girl who wants to be a ballerina and loves to dance, but so clearly doesn't have the body for it. Hannah's sadness, both for this little girl and that child she once was, is beautiful portrayed. This book was so sweet, and I look forward to other books Flack might write.

When all is said and done, Bunheads gets 4 stars. It was like chocolate ice cream, delicious and sweet. It's a flavor that you may have eaten as a little kid when you were really picky about funny things in your ice cream, and you look back on it fondly after eating it.
Here's an article that The Boston Globe printed about Sophie Flack and her emergence into the writing world:http://articles.boston.com/2011-10-11/ae/30267383_1_balanchine-nycb-novel

Steampunk!

I absolutely love Steampunk - a contemporary culture genre based off the Victorian Era, had technology taken a different term - see Steampunk.

This book is - if you can see on the title - An Anthology Of Fantastically Rich And Strange Stories. It's actually, I think, a newer version of an older Steampunk anthology - I got to read this as a galley! The stories are collected by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant. Some of the contributing authors are Garth Nix, Holly Black, Libby Bray, Cassandra Clare, and Ysabeau S. Wilce - all authors that make me extremely joyful. So, this book got off to a good start with me even before I started reading.

There are about 14 stories - 2 are in graphic novel form. Normally, I dislike anthologies, as they are too choppy to read - this one was no different. Although the stories were beautifully written, and the comics were fantastic, it was hard to keep my attention from straying or confusing the stories.

Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend this to any Steampunk fan, or to any lovers of the authors that contributed to this book. 3.8/5

This book is like a mystery fruity cake - there are too many conflicting flavors, but overall, the taste is nice. Not for people who don't like fruit.

Article 5

by Kristen Simmons

     I read this book a few months ago, so the finer details are fuzzy in my head. Fuzzier still was the feeling I got from reading it back then. Don't get me wrong- it wasn't a warm fuzzy feeling, or even a particularly nice fuzzy feeling. It was a taught-with-danger, electricity-running-through-veins fuzzy, the kind of fuzzy where secret agents are about to come bursting through your bunker door to mow you down with railguns. A bloody brilliant kind of fuzzy. I think I just used the word fuzzy more often than I have in my life.

     This book is a dystopian future; the genre is exploding right now, from what I'm seeing in our ARCs, but I've only read a few dystopian books better than Article 5. Yes, Divergent comes to mind, but that's a happy fairy tale compared to the dark depths of this one.
     The government's post-apocalyptic-war takeover of the United States, a totalitarian coup of all of our ideals, was intensely believable; the history was never directly told, instead being hinted at throughout. It kept me curious and hooked throughout.
     I should say, on that note, that this book isn't really for the faint of heart or those looking for a light read. At points the romance was inappropriate and a bit irritating, but, then again-- you know my taste in books. Maybe others will see the romance as a fitting counterpoint to the pervasive griminess and evil of Simmons' America.
     This book definitely merits the 4.5 I'll give it; I was slightly put off by the sharpness of the narrative some times, and, as I said, I wasn't a big fan of the romance. The rest was way, way, way worth it, though. Food-wise, it's the perfectly tart cranberry juice, chilled and poured at the height of thirst.
     Plus points for a great cover!

The Crazy Things Girls Do for Love

By: Dyan Sheldon

Genre: YA fiction,  School Lit

Cody is perhaps the coolest, most gorgeous, charismatic and dynamic teen ever to walk through the pages of YA fiction. When he transfers into Clifton Springs High School hearts are set afire, and the Environmental Club will never be the same. Which girl will win his heart? There are three who are about to start an epic quest for love.

This is one of the most delightful YA novels I have read in years. The clash of cliques is genuine and the pursuit of love single-minded and realistic. Even better was the deft weave of environmental education.

Dyan Sheldon should be commended for not only telling a great story, but for effectively embedding the environmental message of "reduce, reuse, recycle." The gradual evolution of environmental awareness among the main characters, as well as the school and community, was authentic.

Best of all was the highly satisfactory ending. The Crazy Things Girls do for Love should be part of every high school collection and a featured title in book talks for years to come.

The food experience is like a fantastic Caprese salad. Fresh, sparkling, crunchy lettuce with creamy mozzarella, fragrant leaves of basil, plump tomatoes brusting with flavor, all drizzled with a light, spicy dressing. All organic vegetables, grown locally, of course!
5 stars

Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings

Hello.

I don't really know how to start this review. I have so many things to say, but when I go to write them down my head empties. This book was so rich with emotion and reality that it is hard to describe.

In Ugly to Start With by John Michael Cummings, each chapter could stand alone, with a specific message, a different issue touched on. My favorite was probably either the first chapter "The World Around Us" or the second to last chapter "The Scratchboard Project". I like these best because the relationship with the main character and others is more of a positive one. While the chapters do go together, they are not as cohesive as I might have normally liked. However, in this book, I like the feeling of having just snap shot memories and moments. It reminded me of a photograph album that would never actually be able to be made. While the experience is there, the photos taken, these are moments which would never have been caught on film, and the people in them would have never wanted them to be. Each character, even though the reader only met most of them for a chapter, had personality and a face. Each one was specific and different and heartbreakingly real.

The chapters were vastly different and so were the issues mentioned with in them. Cummings hit on sexuality, racism, alcoholics, adultery, and others. There were things that shocked me and left me horrified, while other times I was smiling even just for a moment. I feel that this book really hit home with what it means to be a teenager in the 1970's, to be in this environment of constant social issues and arguments while trying to make something out of yourself, even if no one else believes or cares if you succeed.

This book reminds me a little bit of The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros because of how each chapter can hold there own, and is a different story per chapter. However the main character of Ugly to Start With reminds me more of Holden Caufield, in the way that they are both teenagers who are sort of sulky, despairing and depressed.

I give this book a 3.25 because I think the book hits on a lot of hard issues and that is what made me a little bit more uncomfortable and dislike it a little.

Favorite Quotation: "There was this huge, filled up world all around us that I couldn't see." (p. 7)

xoxo.

Miss Liz

See You at Harry's

By Jo Knowles

This book is the first book I have read outside of school in four months, and I think it was the perfect one to start with. It may just be that I was in desperate need of a character with more problems than me, I enjoyed it immensely. Fern fit the bill perfectly. She is just starting middle school, may or may not have a crush on her best friend, and watches her brother get harassed at school for being gay.  While this is enough for many whiny YA characters Fern's little brother dies suddenly after an accident that she feels is her fault. I sobbed. The writing may not have been great, but I honestly don't know because I was too caught up in the story to notice.

I'm trying to think of the right food to describe this book, and I think its water. I don't mean bland, thirsty-and-theres-nothing-else-in-the-house water. This book was running a marathon in the desert with no end in sight and you just want to die and then you get a large glass of ice cold water, and it tastes SO good. It isn't really about the water, it's the circumstances. I think that I would recommend this to some people, because the story was nice and Fern was a good main character if you need a sad book to put your life in perspective.

Diabolical by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Diabolical is the fourth in the series, though I didn't find that out until partway through. Given that, I didn't feel as though I missed too much, and it was only a little confusing, and I'm not sure how much of that was from missing the first books.

It was probably one of the funniest love story I've ever read, and I doubt it would be as funny if I'd been more invested in the characters, the way one is after they've read three books. Miranda is a dead vampire, and she's in Penultimate, the place that comes just before Heaven. She's stuck there, helpless to do anything except watch the love of her life, the half-fallen angel Zachary, and his friend, Kieren the werewolf, get stuck in a school of Satan trying to rescue Miranda's friend Lucy. Though the plot was interesting enough, the writing fell a bit short. The characters didn't seem to have emotions, and when someone dies, they all kind of think, "Oh, look, that person's dead, maybe we should try to do something." No one really gets sad, though it mentions a couple times that maybe someone is being a little sad, but I would not have guessed based on their actions. And I was really disappointed in Satan; he ended up being really lame.

It is a 2.6. Cool ideas and a cool cover, but not very well written. It was like those breads that are shaped like fish. It looks really cool and its a cool idea, but it doesn't taste like the best thing in the world.