January 2011 Bookish Thoughts

Where does time go? I realized that I've bought and read many good books since the beginning of 2011 but never quite got around to reviewing them... So here we go, my bookish thoughts (yes, good things come in three's):

edit// to clarify, I read all of these in January or February ♥

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Keywords: childhood friends, summer, family

Why love: summer, sweet, popsicle

My Thoughts: Fixing Delilah is the epitome of a summer romance, with the slowly blooming romance with the childhood friend to the perfect backdrops. But as cliche as that may sound, the story's beautiful, pure, touching, and genuine, with a sweet message of moving on and facing your fears. Sarach Ockler is an amazing contemporary writer, and just reading Fixing Delilah makes me think of those cherry Popsicles that girl characters always seem to buy and slowly enjoy as they walk along the beach, letting the juice dribble innocently down their chin.

Author Expectations: I liked Twenty Boy Summer more (mainly because I enjoyed the main character more and the plot was a bit more unique), but Fixing Delilah definitely lived up to expectations.



Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst

Keywords: magic, Princeton, secrets

Why love: mystical creatures, tiger boy, action

My Thoughts: Not much to elaborate on this one because I think the three aspects I listed just above pretty much summarize Enchanted Ivy. It's a fun, fast-moving book with a delightful sprinkling of fantasy and some very attractive boys. Not particularly stand out, but still a great book I'd recommend.

Author Expectations: The writing style was very different from Ice, so it's a bit hard for me to say. I prefer Ice over Enchanted Ivy because I love, love, love fairy tales, but Enchanted Ivy is a quicker, lighter read

I also interviewed Sarah Beth Durst last summer, but never got to post it up due to life complications. *smack self* But anyways, here is one of the looser parts of the interview, which I asked because Sarah Beth Durst has written three books (Ice, Into the Wild, Out of the Wild) based on fairy tales:

8. Which fairy tale would you choose to be in if you were:

· The princess: Sleeping Beauty (because at least she gets to catch up on her rest)

· The prince: Snow White's prince (because nothing bad happens to him, except for having to marry a girl he's never spoken to)

· The villain: the witch in Rapunzel (she loses her adopted daughter's love, but she doesn't lose her life or limbs, which means there's still a chance she can redeem herself)

· The unsignificant, background character: minor noblewoman in Cinderella (because at least there's a fun party)

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Keywords: French Revolution, time travel, finding oneself

Why love: original, fascinating, beautiful writing

My Thoughts: Revolution is truly beautiful, in both writing and the details that Jennifer Donnelly weaves together. I found the characters unique, the settings rich, and the history engaging. However, it is a long book and the plot dragged a bit at times. I'm not going to lie, if you're not one for long descriptions and contemplative moments, Revolution might be too boring for your tastes. That being said, if you do enjoy these things, this is definitely one book that will keep you engrossed for a few hours.

Author Expectations: I read Winter Rose a couple of years ago and distinctly remember enjoying it... *shrug* The main aspect that stands out to me after reading both Winter Rose and Revolution, which is marketed towards YA, is the character age difference, how Revolution's characters remain teenagers and, thus, miss out on some of the "themes" of adult books -- not that its a bad thing, just putting it out there.


Overall, January 2011 was a month of variety and awesome books. I'll probably do another one of these next week and talk about The Vespertine and such, but we'll see. Did you read/enjoy any of these books? :)

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And since I'm on an Asian roll with music, today's song is a Chinese pop song that literally all the Chinese students at my high school know. It's essentially a guy singing that he'll always be there to protect the girl (he'll be her angel, her prince, etc.etc.) who's undergoing some major surgery. Sorry, I obviously need a refresher on the song's premise, and though I make it sound really bland, it's actually very, very sweet. :3

Double-Trouble Monday: Episode 1

From now on, I’m going to be doing “Double-Trouble Monday” posts, which are basically going to be two short reviews and what I’m currently reading. I don’t always fully review what I’m reading, so I’ll probably be putting these up from time to time. Watch out! :)

Skinned  by Robin Wasserman

Price: $9.99 (paperback) from Amazon

Summary:

Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular -- until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. [more]

Review: I almost loved this one. In fact, Skinned really reminded me of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfield (author of the recently released Leviathan, for anyone who’s been hiding under a rock), but that’s probably because of the cover and technologically-advanced, futuristic setting; the “skinned” scenario was definitely different. In a time when technology can cut a dying human’s brain into minuscule slivers and transfer all data into a machine, Skinned unfolds as a girl who was supposed to die in a car crash, Lia, is given the body of a never-aging, agile, beautiful... machine. Obviously, chaos ensues as she tries to assimilate back into her old life, since her adjustment works out about as well as a fish does on dry ground. Lia’s conflicts felt very real to me and, told in first person, the writing concise and the voice strong. What prevented me from actually loving this book was that sometimes I just wished Lia would get over herself; it’s hard, but deal with it, sorry. Overall, I had a difficult time putting this one down, and I am definitely anticipating the sequel, Crashed!

Rating:

Streams of Babel by Carol Plum-ucci

Price: $11.56 (hardcover) from Amazon

Summary:

In a New Jersey suburb, two women die of brain aneurysms within twenty-four hours--events that cause the government to suspect that a terrorist cell has unleashed a deadly biochemical agent. With each glass of water they drink, the people of Trinity Falls are poisoning themselves. [more]

Review: Before I start, I should probably say that I might be biased here. I have recently embarked on a journey of self-discovery, and found, unhappily, that I seem to be a complete girly-girl that needs to have romance in everything. So maybe terrorist books aren’t my thing. However, on that note, the terrorist plot in Streams of Babel was intriguing and a creepy prospect that I sincerely hope no terrorist will carry out anywhere near me or the United States. The whole terrorist story was very well developed and complex. Before you read, be aware that this book isn't really a mystery, more like you already know who the culprits are from page one and, from there, it’s the chase of the villains and dealing with the victims of the bacteria. A major complaint I had against the book was that there were so many different voices telling the story. Just when I was about to get into one person’s story and wanted to know what would happen next to him/her, the narrator would skip to another character and so on. Annoying, yes; Innovative, maybe. But basically, I just had a hard time connecting to the characters that way. And, just because I have to include this, a quote that made me smile:

“Go get a birth certificate before I kick a second crack in your ass.”

Rating:

Currently Reading:

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

on page 80 out of 278

-- I love the cover! The author has a beautiful way of seeing and describing things, but her style is a bit hard for me to read. I’m hoping I’ll get more used to it as the story progresses.

And, I just got Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick today, and I've read about half of it so far. I'll force myself to put it aside for Wintergirls, but I'm super excited to read it. Hope you guys are reading some equally exciting books this week!