Tag Archives: young adult

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Am I the only one who didn’t love Persepolis? There were aspects of the book that I appreciate, but overall I give it a big, fat meh. I appreciated the portrayal of a girl living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The Islamic Revolution is a topic rarely discussed in Western literature. I also appreciated the accessibility of the graphic novel format. This book could easily fit into a high school World History course. I just didn’t love it, ya know?

I didn’t like the main character, Marji. Although she and her family had their fair share of struggles, their hardships seemed much less severe than the realities of their neighbors and friends. Their family is rather well-to-do and I would have appreciated a story of those who experienced the harsher realities of a revolution. Does that make me a bad person? I’ve never experienced the harsher realities of war or a revolution myself. Am I a hypocritical critic?

I know this is her memoir, and Marji lost her uncle and many people she loved which is insanely awful. To me, Marji just gave off that spoiled teen vibe– something I can’t stand and one of the reasons I did not become a YA librarian. (I suppose in some ways the spoiled teen vibe was rightful, she was a young teenager during the novel– I just hate it!)

I also wasn’t crazy about the graphics. The drawings were a little simplistic for my taste, but one could argue they represented the simplicity of childhood and all that jazz.

This book was often compared to Maus. Maus was better. I still might read the second book in the series, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return. I wasn’t happy with the ending.

Did you read Persepolis? What did you think?

love,
melanie

 

 

The Magicians

Tell me a book is about young adults dappling in magic and I’ll read it. Tell me it’s about borderline alcoholic, young adults dappling in magic and I’m grabbing the book out of your hand and running for the door.

The book I just gracefully snatched out of your clutches is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

The Magicians is easy to compare to the Harry Potter series. Both are about young magicians attending a school for magic. Both feature a young man as a protagonist and are written from a third-person perspective. But that is where the similarities end.

The Magicians was surprisingly fast-paced and modern unlike the Harry Potter series, which is timeless, but can be a bit slow. The Magicians was also very adult, so I wouldn’t recommend this one to the kiddos.

Quentin, the protagonist, is an unhappy young guy who stumbles through a garden in Brooklyn and ends up at a school for magic. Quentin, always dissatisfied with life, thinks this new school may be the key to happiness. He makes friends, he meets a girl, he studies diligently, but he still isn’t happy.He graduates and soon after, his childhood fantasy comes true, but will it lead him to happiness? Dun. Dun. Dun! You’ll have to read it to find out! (How very Reading Rainbow of me!)

My favorite part of the book? The reality of it all. Magic, if real, would exist in the world of Grossman’s novel.The characters have major flaws. They drink, they do drugs, they have sex with the wrong people. They don’t wave wands or wear capes. They truly seemed like real people with a talent.

I also enjoyed the peach-Schnapps-drinking bear. Just read it, you’ll understand.

Have you read The Magicians? What did you think?

I’m checking out the sequel today!

love,
melanie

Summer Reading List 2012

I’m a crazy-list-maker and not afraid to admit it. Making lists makes me feel good, accomplished even. It makes me feel that I did something for the day, even though maybe I only made a list. Whoops.

Reading lists are one of my favorite lists to create. They’re the nerdy, yet fun-loving cousin of To-Do lists. Let’s call my reading lists, Gertrud. Since this weekend is Memorial Day, which generally marks the start of summer-time, Gertie and I are (reluctantly) whipping out our bathing suits, slathering on our SPF 100, and sipping cocktails poolside.

Summer Reading List 2012 (a.k.a. Gertie.)

Treasure Island!!!
Sara Levine

Although this book gets mixed review on Amazon, I’m going to take a chance and put Treasure Island!!! on the list because the premise is just so weird. And I heard about it on NPR, whom I trust with book reviews.

In this suburban comedy, a recent college grad with a lack-luster job history reads Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and decides she should live her life by the core values of the book:  namely, boldness, resolution, independence and horn-blowing.

Sounds mildly crazy, huh? Maybe just as crazy as naming your Summer Book List, Gertie.

Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James

I’m jumping on the bandwagon for this one. Generally, books about passionate, physical relationships written in (what I have heard to be) graphic detail, don’t really interest me. I prefer a little magic with my “trash,” a la the Sookie Stackhouse novels. But I feel as a librarian sometimes it is my duty to read books with big hype. And I’m not afraid to admit I want to know what all the hype is about!

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
Jenny Lawson

Since it is summer-time, I want something to tickle my funny bone as I sip on a boozy, cool drink. So, I chose another book from the humor genre. This time, the book is a “mostly-true memoir” from Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess. In Let’s Pretend this Never Happened, Jenny writes about the most embarrassing and traumatic experiences of her life, you know, the ones you wished never happened, and spins them into a hilarious tale. Or at least I hope she does.

Wildwood
Colin Meloy, illustrations by Carson Ellis

Ya’ll know I had to put a YA novel on here. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time because of, you guessed it, the cover. It’s beautiful, right? The book is illustrated by Carson Ellis, Colin Meloy’s wife. Colin Meloy is the singer/songwriter for The Decemberists. Her Majesty, the Decemberists was the soundtrack to my sophomore year of college.

Even the plot of Wildwood sounds oddly-beautiful. Prue McKeel’s baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows, so she adventures into the uncharted Wildwood to save him.

The Introvert Advantage: How to thrive in an extrovert world
Marti Olsen, Psy.D.

I’m an introvert. I know it is a cliché for librarians to be introverts, but I can’t help it. Introverts get an undeserved bad rap. Through this book I hope to learn how to better use my introverted personality to my advantage, instead of trying to hide it or “fix” it.

Want more of my “To-Read” lists? Follow me on Goodreads!

What are ya’ll reading this summer?

love,
melanie

Love Books: Please Ignore Vera Dietz

I’m on a Young Adult literature kick right now. I guess I’m making up for reading almost no YA lit. as a “young adult.” (I still consider myself young adult, although I’m technically out of the bracket.)

I have to admit, I picked Please Ignore Vera Dietz because of the cover art. I’m terrible about judging books by the cover, but I can’t think of one instance where a book I love has a crappy cover. This book was no different. Great cover, great story.

Vera, a high-school senior, is haunted by her dead-ex-best-friend, Charlie. Charlie wants Vera to tell the truth surrounding the circumstances of his death. But Vera is conflicted. She loved Charlie and she hated Charlie. She loved him because he was charming, dangerous and her childhood best friend. And she hated him because he spread her ugly family secret around their high school.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an easy, but edgy read. The book has a storyline that jumps through time and through characters to keep it interesting.  I’d recommend this book to any and all wallflowers with a free afternoon.

Has anyone else read this book? What did you think about it?

love,
melanie

Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing

Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing, the second and third novel in the Gemma Doyle series, made me sincerely wish there were more strong, leading female characters in the novels I read growing up. Sure, I had Hermione Granger, but she was far more of a supporting character than a leading lady.

Gemma Doyle is the best kind of girl– a relatable one. She is strong, independent, curious, and imperfect. Gemma trusts the wrong people, crushes on the wrong boys and wants the unobtainable. She is pretty, but not beautiful. She is smart, but not a genius. She embodies the confusion of young adulthood and well… life.  In these last books, I most enjoyed seeing Gemma grow, stumble to find herself, and become a confident woman. It’s what kids young adults everyone goes through– with or without magic.

Although, I completely underestimated the time it would take to read the 800+ pages in the final book. In fact, I neglected my blogging duties last week because I was trying to finish it. Don’t get me wrong, reading wasn’t a chore. It was quite enjoyable, but I definitely think the final book in the trilogy, The Sweet Far Thing, could have been divided up into at least two books. And then maybe made into an HBO series. And then edited a bit.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and I’ll be the first in line to see the movie… if it ever gets made.

Have you read the Gemma Doyle trilogy? What did you think?

love,
melanie

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Book Review

I’m making pleasure reading a priority this summer– no matter what. And I am ready, ready, ready for summer.

So, I’m starting my summer reading off early with The Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I read A Great and Terrible Beauty over the weekend and I’m hooked. I’m checking out the second in the series, Rebel Angels today.

I have to admit, I am a total wimp. In kindergarten, we watched the Disney adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and I’ve never been the same.  If I had known how haunting this book is, I probably would not have picked it up. But I am so glad I did.

A Great and Terrible Beauty is one part, Gossip Girl, one part Edgar Allan Poe. The book is told from the point-of-view of Gemma, a sixteen year old girl, who when the book opens is living in Victorian-age India. Soon after a mysterious tragedy, she is sent to a strict boarding school in England where she creates frenemy relationships and experiences dark visions.

A Great and Terrible Beauty had me reading (with all the lights on!) into the wee hours of the morning.

What are you currently reading? Follow me on Goodreads to see more!

love,
melanie