Alvin Ho: Totally Awesome

Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking, and Other Natural Disasters Lenore Look

Yay! Alvin's back! Alvin Ho, scaredy-cat supreme, has to go camping. His older brother Calvin has helped all he can by ordering tons of survival gear off the internet.

"Will this cost a lot of money?" I asked.
"None," said Calvin. "I'll use Dad's credit card. He said it's for emergency use only--and this is an emergency."
I nodded.
"This way no one has to spend any money," Calvin explained, "you pay with plastic."

My favorite part was the fact that Anibelly talks herself onto the trip. Anibelly might be the greatest 4-year-old ever. Anibelly's not afraid of anything and says whatever she's thinking which leads to some fun unrelated thoughts: I thought hiking was where you beat back the bushes with a sword and you get all sweaty and look like you're about to die... oh, how I wish I had a guinea pig!

But, she ends up being extremely useful to help Alvin pull himself together in time to save the day.

There's good use of changing font size to express volume without being too confusing for newer readers, and LeUyen Pham's illustrations are (once again) a delightful addition. I love Alvin as a character, how everyone accepts his extreme fear as part of who is and just rolls with it. These are great books for transitional readers!

Book Provided by... my local library

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A Most Excellent Book

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park Steve Kluger

Letters, texts, journal entries, emails, IM Conversations, fliers and other ephemera make up the narrative of this most fantastic book.

I do love a story told in "stuff." That's what I wrote my final paper on when I took YA lit in library school. Stuff is how we live the stories of our lives, it's how life happens, so it makes sense to tell a story with it. Interestingly enough, books in stuff tend to appeal to your reluctant readers because it's seen as less stuffy than traditional narrative. BUT! Telling a story in stuff means the reader has to connect dots that narrative usually connects for you, making it actually a harder read, you just don't notice it, because it's just like connecting the dots of our day-to-day lives.

This novel tells the story of the freshman year of Augie, TC, and Ale. Augie and TC are more than best friends, they're brothers. Augie doesn't know he's gay, even though everyone else does. TC loves the new girl, Ale, who thinks she can't stand him. She's more concerned about hiding her love and talent for musical theater from her diplomat father. Along the way, they fall in and out of love, create new families, and stalk Julie Andrews.

Everyone gets a say as the story unfolds. Mostly laugh-at-loud funny, there was one spot where I just cried and then cried for the next week as I thought about. Parts of the plot are over-the-top, but I loved it and just want to read it over and over and over again.

I don't want to say that it's heartwarming (even though it totally is) because I think that will send the wrong impression because it's more like a comedic romp with deeper layers.

I especially loved that Augie and TC's parents got their say as well and were totally believable while doing it.

Book Provided by... my local library

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The Bunnies are a sign of EVIL

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse Robert Rankin

Jack has come to the city to seek his fortune. Little does he know that the city is actually a Toy City, inhabited by hard-drinking teddy bears, promiscuous dollies, and tin toy bartenders. He soon teams up with Eddie, one of the hard-drinking teddies to solve a series of murder cases of the city's most prominent members--Nursery Rhyme characters. They're not toys. They're meat and they're being murdered in horrific ways. Jack and Eddie seek to find out in this noir crime fiction with a madcap and zany twist.

Obviously, this will draw comparisons to the work of Jasper Fforde (who is one of my favorite authors). Rankin is less zany and weird, and much darker, keeping more in line with the conventions of pulp crime fiction. However, if you have a dark demented sense of humor (like me) this is really funny and rather well done. I loved exploring the divide between toy and meat, and the politics of the different types of toys. I also loved the different toy religions and how they differed and how they came about. I'm looking out for other Rankin books now.

Book Provided by... a friend of mine who thought I'd like it. She was right!

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Why are believable books about guy friendship so hard to find?

Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about The Grapes of Wrath Steven Goldman

Mitch has three main problems:

1. Girls are confusing and he can't figure them out, let alone get one to make out with him.
2. His best friend is gay. Mitch is ok with this, but their friendship has been different ever since David came out. Also, Mitch is the only one who knows.
3. He couldn't be bothered to read The Grapes of Wrath and write his paper for English, so he instead turned in a clay-mation film that didn't have much to do with the book. He might now be failing English. And may get suspended.
4. Prom. See #1, above.

Hilarious! A great look at high school, girls, sisters, and male friendship. It remains hysterically funny while not trivializing the meat of the book--Mitch and David's friendship. This is one of the rare books where I believed that this was a friendship between guys. Too many times, male friendship to me reads like female friendship, but with guys instead of girls. I loved the exploration of how Mitch's issues with finding a date and David's coming out changed their friendship and how they dealt (or didn't) with those changes.

I also really loved Mitch's little sister, who had a way of telling him what was what.

Book Provided by... my local library

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When Magic Kills

Bones of Faerie Janni Lee Simner

Its been a generation since the war between Faerie and us. Although humans won, magic is still everywhere around. Trees attack and crops fight back at harvest time. Magic kills. Magic is dangerous and those born with hints of magic are immediately destroyed. That's what happened to Liza's sister. She had clear hair and silver eyes, so obviously touched by magic.

After her sister is left on the hillside to die, Liza's mother disappears. Then, Liza starts to fear she has abilities and notices a few clear strands in her own hair. She runs away and finds that not everyone deals with magic the same way her town does and that what she has always held as true might not be so.

I loved the idea of a post-apocalyptic dystopian America caused by faeries, though their fate was so much worse. In addition to a great concept and good adventure/quest story, the writing is what truly makes this one special. I'm odd in my fantasy reading and don't always enjoy the genre, and an adventure/quest story isn't something that will automatically draw me in, but the language in this! Oh! The lyrical writing just drew me in and held me there. This was one of the rare books that I slowed down to read, so I could savor every page.

The opening has been quoted several times throughout blogland, so here's something from the second page.

We knew the rules. Don't touch any stone that glows with faerie light, or that light will burn you fiercer than any fire. Don't venture out alone into the dark, or the darkness will swallow you whole. And cast out the magic born among you, before it can turn on its parents.

Towns had died for not understanding that much. My father was a sensible man.

But the memory of my sister's bones, cracked and bloody in the moonlight, haunts me still.

Copy from: the library
Book Provided by...

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Ways to laugh at the pain that is Junior High

Flashcards of My Life Charise Mericle Harper

Emily is trying to navigate a mother who is always on a diet and fighting with her father, and friends who don't get along. Add in a major crush and... well, it's not easy. She never manages to keep a journal like her Aunt Chester thinks she should, so Aunt Chester (not really her aunt, and not really named Chester, but... it's a long story) sends her "Flashcards of my Life" flashcards with headings like "friends" "kisses" "embarrassments." It's a project Em thinks she can handle.

Harper perfectly captures the awkward horribleness of junior high, and with great humor. Em illustrates her story and the flashcards with drawings about how her friends get along like "tuna fish and ice cream" and charts to map out levels of friendships, "Things Your Friends Might Do to Crush-Test You" and things she wished came in potion form, like not getting a red face or always saying the right thing. It's a funny read, but one that does deal with the real angst-issues of the age range. I really, really enjoyed this one and have been throwing it at tween girls ever since reading it.

A great one for your female fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Getting Ready!

Holy cow you guys! It's only 2.5 weeks until my blog birthday party! Y'all are coming right?

I really hope so! I know you need to supply your own cake and champagne, but I've been working madly on getting the goody prize bags together for the people who come. I can't wait until the giant bag from one of my favorite stores, tartx, arrives! That's just a small teaser (plus, there will be mountains of books being given away! Including audio books!) I'm hoping that EVERYONE who comes to my virtual party will get something, but I can't say for sure until I see how many people show up.

I'm still trying to decide what to read. I have about 5 books that have come out in the last few months that I haven't read yet! I couldn't wait to get them and I haven't even opened them. Life's been pretty busy lately and these are books that I want to savor, that I want to read slowly in one sitting. But how will I decide which one I read at the party?! Maybe, because it's my party, I can read for more than 5 hours? Hmmmm...

When Cheerleader Zombies Aren't Just a Metaphor

Zombie Blondes Brian James

Hannah and her father are always on the run, but their new town seems different. The popular girls, the cheerleaders, are all a little too perfect and too matching. The weird kid, Lukas, says it's because they're really all part of a zombie cult and that Hannah should stay away. Lukas says it's the zombies, not the economy, that's killing the town and are responsible for all of the empty houses that are for sale. But then Hannah's given a chance to join the squad...

Excellent concept, poor execution. Most of the book is aiming for mystery "are they really zombies or aren't they" but I couldn't bring myself to really care. The entire story is Hannah's narration, there isn't a lot of dialogue and it's lots of tell, no show. Frankly, until the final climax, it's just... boring.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Two by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 Laurie Halse Anderson

In the early days of the United States and a yellow fever epidemic is raging through Philadelphia. Mattie quickly finds herself alone in a city that's been decimated by disease. She has to protect herself not only from the yellow fever, but also the thieves that stalk the streets, taking things from deserted houses. While trying to survive, she desperately tries to find out information about her friends and family and if they still live.

It's not often I'd recommend historical fiction for reluctant readers, but this is a pretty fast-moving story with just enough gross pus to keep reluctant readers engaged. I liked it.

In June, for Weekly Geeks, people asked me about books I had read, but not reviewed yet.

Eva from A Striped Armchair asked Have you read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson? If so, how does it compare to Fever?

I have read Speak (and reviewed it here). I think Speak compares much more with Wintergirls (reviewed below). This is very different than speak, as it's more straight-up historical fiction and while still moving and gripping, it's for completely different reasons.

Book Provided by... my local library

Wintergirls Laurie Halse Anderson

Lia's ex-best friend is dead. She's been in treatment twice now for her anorexia. Her parents are worried that Cassie's death will trigger a backslide into starvation. What they don't know is that Lia has been starving herself ever since she left treatment.

A stark and unflinching look at the subterfuge Lia goes through (sewing quarters in the pockets of the robe she wears when being weighed, tampering with the scale, faking cooking smells) to starve to death. More than that though, it's a look into the very messed-up mind of someone who would want to do that. Someone who knows that once she meets her next weight goal of 100 lbs (at 5'5") she won't be happy until she's 95 lbs and when that happens, she won't be happy until she's at 90 lbs and on and on until she's dead.

Horrifying and amazing. I can't really add much to what's already been said by everyone else who has read this, except that I agree! I especially liked how Lia censors her thoughts, which we see through frequent use of words being crossed out and some teeny-tiny font. I like it when authors play with design to help tell their story.

Book provided by... my local library

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Coffee and Shakespeare = YAY!

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty Jody Gehrman

First things first-- this is Much Ado About Nothing, but set in Sonoma County and told from Beatrice's (renamed Geena) point of view. There's no wedding, but a giant sweet sixteen party. No one fakes their death, but they might return to boarding school earlier than planned. The evil Don John is just the bigshot local guy whom everyone worships. The coffee is hot, but the revenge is cold.

A fun and excellent summer read, and a really well done retelling. It stays true to the plot and elements, but if I hadn't known it was a retelling before reading it, it would have taken me a really long time to get it, because it keeps the source material in the background (much like Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason). I most enjoyed the subplot of Geena and her father. The sequel, Triple Shot Bettys in Love which I'm very much looking forward to reading, is a retelling of Cyrano De Bergerac.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Evil Step Mothers!

The Poison Apples Lily Archer

Despite references to various fairy tales, this is NOT a fairy tale retelling, which is really hard to tell from the product description.

Once I got over that disappointment, I was very much able to enjoy this book for what it is. Alice, Reena, and Molly are three very different girls with one thing in common-- a totally evil step-mother (and apparently whackjob dads that let their stepmoms just treat them like utter crap). The three are exiled by these (metaphorical) witches to boarding school, where they meet and form an unlikely friendship.

Chapters switch POV between each of the main characters, allowing them to flesh out as we see their inner monologue and everyone else's take on them. A great and funny twist on the boarding school/friendship/learning to accept change type story.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.