Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs
Quirk Publishing
2011

Holy creepy book Batman!  I've admitted to being a wuss before, but I really think this book would give just about anyone the heebie-jeebies.  Having said that, YOU REALLY NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.  Wow.  Wow wow.  It's sooooo good.  And I hate scary things.  But this book had me hook line and sinker from the get go.
So here's the basic storyline.  Jacob has grown up around his very peculiar grandfather, Abe, who always told him stories of children with special gifts - an invisible boy, a levitating girl and a boy who had bees living inside him.  When Jacob was very young he believed his grandfather's tall tales, but as he got older, he realized that there was no way the stories could be true.  When Jacob's grandfather dies mysteriously, Jacob suddenly wants to know more about Abe's odd childhood.  Finally, Jacob convinces his own father to travel with him to the small British Island where Abe grew up in search of some answers.  What he finds are more than answers and will lead him to believe all his grandfather's stories and lead him into great danger.
And that's all I'm going to tell you.
Ok, I lied.  Here's some more.  This book has it all: history, fantasy, science fiction, time travel, creepy crawlies, bullies, bad guys, good guys, bad guys disguised as good guys, oh...and some serious sheep do-do.  But what really makes the book stand out is Riggs' use of antique photographs.  First off, some of the photographs are down right creepy (demonic Santa Clause posed with two innocent children on a reindeer?  Creeptastic).  However all of the photos add to the storyline.  The story starts out with Abe showing Jacob the pictures and telling him the stories, and it comes full circle in the end.
I will admit that I started reading this book one night before bed and promptly had to put it down.  The next day I went through the entire book looking at the pictures in an attempt to un-creepify them.  Then I restricted myself to reading only when it was light outside (though the middle of the book is not so creepy, it's just great writing, so that part I could read before bed).  I also started to freak out about shadows (eeeh...they're ruined for me forever) and, I won't lie, considered sleeping with a lamp or two on one night.  And you can bet your knickers I checked and double checked the locks before going to bed each night.  Which reminds me....

August books...

I recently finished another amazing book (no spoilers here) and came to my blog to write the review and realized that I hadn't published a single review yet this month!  What the...?

So once again, just wanted to let you know a few things:

1. I have been reading.  Lots and lots.  Oodles and oodles.  I even gave up movie time with my guy last weekend to read (in my defense, he was watching Beavis and Butthead).
2. I have been writing reviews, I just haven't finished any.  I get about 1/2 way through the review and something comes up so I save it to be finished later but then later never comes...
3. I GRADUATED!!!!  Pretty soon I'll be a full-fledged librarian.  But the best news is I don't have to take any classes this semester!  Wahoooo!
4. School is about to start, so yeay! And boo...because there goes my free time.
5. I promise to have at least 4 reviews up by the end of the month.  I promise promise.  Two of them are going to be AWESOME because I've just finished reading some truly awesome literature.
6. Book Club Ladies - I'm coming back someday, I promise.

Oh, and if you have read any good books lately, please let me know.  I'm looking for recommendations for adult books.  Now that grad school is over I feel like it's going to be completely acceptable for me to read some adult books now and then.

Happy Reading!
Suzanne

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Cryer's Cross
Lisa McMann
narrated by Julia Wehlan

Truthfully, I'm on the fence about this book, and I'm not sure if it's because I listened to the audiobook or because the book is a bit weird.  I'm starting to wonder how my opinion of books is shaped by the audiobook.  I wonder if the audio version doesn't absolutely thrill me from the get-go then I don't like the book in the end as much, or if I think it's boring or moves slowly because the narrator speaks slowly.  But that's another debate.
Cryer's Cross is a remote town in Montana where students are starting to mysteriously disappear.  The book begins with the main character, Kendall, recalling how she felt being a part of the search party for the first missing teen, Tiffany.  Then a few months later when Kendall's boyfriend starts acting weird and disappears as well, her life is thrown into turmoil.  To make matters worse, Kendall is extremely obsessive compulsive, so her brain races all the time - except when she's playing soccer or dancing.
When Nico (Kendall's boyfriend) disappears, the obsessive compulsive in Kendal notices that Nico and Tiffany sat at the same desk, and that the desk had been brought up earlier in the spring when the class got too big.  She convinces herself that it has to be a coincidence and works very hard to distract herself with soccer and dancing so that her constantly racing OCD brain doesn't take over.  But the oddities that keep cropping up make it impossible for Kendall to let go of the possibility that Nico is alive and needs her help, and she must constantly decide whether what's happening is real or whether she's going crazy.
What made this book difficult to finish is that the jacket cover promised a sci-fi thriller type of book (which it is) but the first half of the book is more realistic fiction with really odd teasers at the beginning of each chapter which are, at first confusing and a little intriguing, but then become annoying and confusing until about the last chapter of the book.  The book's saving grace is the ending - very thrilling (read: it scared the pee out of me*).
I don't know who I would recommend this book to, but I have a feeling that it would be pretty popular with teenagers for two reasons.  First, Lisa McMann is a pretty popular YA author (she wrote the crazy popular Wake series).  And second, the plot is sooooo out there - I think kids will like it because they really think if they spend too much time at school they'll go crazy and disappear.

*Author's Note:  I am an absolute wuss.  If something "scares the pee out of me" it could be anything from creepy music in a commercial to someone walking into my office without me seeing them coming. So really...probably not that scary.

What Kind of Reader Are You?

As many of you know, I read.  Often.  Entire 8 hour spans with nothing more than a pause to use the bathroom (or to let the dogs use the bathroom).  In fact, today, my guy suggested that I go shopping instead of sitting at home all day reading, and, well, I'm still in my work out clothes (at least I did that today!).  In the rock-paper-scissors world of reading vs. shopping, reading beats shopping every time.  (Shopping beats cleaning, but cleaning does NOT beat reading.  I don't think anything beats reading...)

But what do I read?  And how do I choose?  What kind of reader am I?

In order to explain what kind of reader I am and how I choose the books I read, I need to give you a little history about my life as a reader.  So grab a cup of cocoa, a snuggly, and enjoy.

When I was little my family would watch TV together in the evenings.  After about an hour of Murder, She Wrote, my dad would usually move from the front couch to the back couch and open a book.  I think he wanted to spend time with us but just wasn't all that interested in TV (to this day it's pretty difficult to get him to sit through an entire movie).  As a daddy's girl, I often went and sat with him.  And since he was reading, I had to as well.  I brought my library books out and sat next to him while he his books.  Then one day, I was probably about 13, he finished a book and handed it to me.  I wish I could remember the title - all I know is the cover was blue and it was a mystery novel.  And it had the "sh" word in it!  I felt soooo mature.  From then on, if Dad thought I could handle the book, he'd give it to me when he was done.  If not, he put it in the basket (and I always raided the basket when he wasn't around).  And any book my dad liked, I had to like.  One day he handed me The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.  I started reading it and hated it.  But I didn't want to admit that to my dad, so I avoided reading it or talking about it.  When it became obvious that my dad loved the book and was dying to talk to me about it (he's Italian and prefers silence, so when he wants to talk, you talk), I picked it up again.  Once I'd struggled past the first 80 pages or so I couldn't put it down.  I literally fell in love for the first time.  I felt like the words had power, I wanted to be PeeKay and I really REALLY wanted to work in a coal mine with a big Russian guy (ironic that that part isn't the most important part of the book, but I have loved mines ever since).  That book changed my life, both how I viewed myself and my talents and abilities, and how I viewed reading.

I often look back at that experience and wonder who I would be if I hadn't read that book - both as Suzanne the semi-normal woman, and as Suzanne the reader.  What it did for Suzanne the person is show me what self confidence is, about the effects of our actions, and why it's important to never give up.  For Suzanne the reader, it made me unable to put a book down until I've read it cover to cover, and it expanded my "reading comfort zone".

So what type of reader am I?

I'm a slow reader.  I like to re-read passages that are particularly well worded, or go back and find the clues in a mystery.

I enjoy all genres.  Some more than others, but I have read books of every major genre and enjoyed them all.

According to my mentor, idol and friend Di Herald, I prefer literary fiction (books that don't have clean "happy for all" endings).  I think this stems from the fact that life rarely has fariytale endings.  I'm aware that books don't have to be realistic, I just like them to be a little realistic.  I think reading too many romance novels gave me the wrong idea of what love looks like, so now in my old age I'm a bit...skeptical?...of books with shiny, happy, perfect endings.

I don't get graphic novels.  If the mystery clues are written out, I can solve the mystery in 90 pages (usually).  If you draw it out, I'll miss the clues every time.

I now read every single book from the point of view of a book-recommender/librarian.  Whenever I finish a book, a list of names of people and students who would like the book pops into my head.

I am a reader that refuses to purchase books.  The only books I have actually paid for with my own money in the last two years are either absolute favorites, gifts or textbooks for grad school.  Find your local public library and use it.

I choose books based on recommendations from other librarians, friends, family or reviews I read.  The list of books I want to read is so long I stopped keeping one.  If I see it or hear about it more than once, or if it's on the bookshelf as I'm walking by in the library, I read it.  I always welcome recommendations, though I think the public library would prefer that I didn't - my request list is a mile long.

If I start a book, I have to finish it.  There are very few exceptions to this rule.  If I consider putting a book down, I remember The Power of One and keep reading it. Though you'll be happy to know I have learned that it's OK for me to not like a book my dad recommends.

I love YA Lit and am darn proud of it.  I don't care if you think it's silly.  Read this article by Gretchen Kolderup and you'll understand why.  "But even if I were to switch careers, I would continue reading YA Lit because it’s good."  I agree with her completely.  Kolderup does an amazing job of explaining what YA Lit is and isn't, but I think it is sufficient to say simply, YA Lit is good literature, reagardless of your age.  My one soap box for this post is this:  if you think YA Lit is just for teens, you're absolutely wrong.  Email me, I'll chat with you about your likes and dislikes in reading and prove to you that there are equal numbers of YA Lit and adult lit books that fit your taste.  And parents, if you have kids, get over it and start reading YA Lit.  These books are not only interesting, they contain big issues that you can discuss with your children.

So what kind of reader are you?

XVI by Julia Karr

XVI
Julia Karr
2011

I can honestly say that I don't remember where I first read about this book or who first recommended it to me.  By the time I got around to reading it, it had been recommended so many times, I just grabbed it.  Rarely do I randomly grab books (I am a dedicated patron-initiated-hold-placer, thankyouverymuch) without at least remembering what they are about.  But I remembered the cover and I knew I'd only heard good things, so I went for it.  This is one of the library books I faithfully carted to and from Germany this summer and with weight restrictions the way they are nowdays, I can honestly say this book is worth it's flight weight!  Such a fantastic read and such an interesting storyline.

Nina Oberon is fifteen.  The day she turns sixteen she, like every other girl will receive the "XVI" tatoo on her wrist.  And she'll be legal - as in it will be legal to have sex with her.  Nina lives in a world where sixteen = "sexteen" and girls can't wait to get their tatoos and become legal.  But Nina can wait - she, unlike her best friend Sandy, isn't interested in sex and boys.  She is extremely close to her mother and half sister, and cares more about getting her creative designation so she can study art and make something of her life.  When her mother is murdered, Nina discovers that there is a possibility that her father - who died when she was very young - is still alive, and she finds herself in the middle of an extremely dangerous conspiracy theory.  She doesn't know what is true and what isn't, and she is forced to rely on people she has just recently met to keep herself, her sister and her family's secrets (that she doesn't completely understand yet) safe.

While I would not recommend this book for middle grade students, I would definitely recommend it for high school aged students - male and female alike.  The idea that sex is legal at a particular age, and then sensationalized is really not that far fetched.  Sandy's obsession with turning sixteen and her constant desire to make herself attractive to men/boys is something that, I think, teenagers do without realizing.  By reading a book where those sorts of behaviors can be dangerous in a very real way might help some girls understand the risks they take - even if the dangers in our present society aren't as strikingly obvious and prevalent (at least they aren't in my happy little world).  And on the other side of the gender coin, by reading a book like this, boys might realize that just because a girl dresses a certain way does not make her "fair game" or "available".

But the beauty of Karr's debut novel is not only that it will make students think, it's action packed and well written.  I could not put the sucker down (I know, I know, which books can I put down?).  And though the ending does lend itself to a sequel, a sequel is not necessary (though according to her website, the sequel Truth will be available Jan 2012.  AND according to her website XVI has been translated into German (that makes this former-German-teacher very happy!)

Other reviews of XVI:

Review by another Colorado Librarian, who wasn't necessarily a fan: http://yalibrariantales.blogspot.com/2010/12/review-xvi-by-julia-karr.html

Student review as found on Genrefluent's Bistro Book Club:
http://genrefluentteentalk.blogspot.com/2011/03/xvi-by-julia-karr.html