Book Review: Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Sophie has survived trauma in her teenage years, which range from car accidents that almost leave her crippled, to surviving an attach where her best friend is shot and killed. Far From You is the aftermath of Sophie’s ordeals, as she struggles to stay clean of her painkiller addiction and find the reason her best friend had to die. The police, one detective in particular, chalk it up to Sophie’s addiction and that it was a drug deal gone wrong. Sophie’s internal mantra of the months, hours, and minutes of her being clean say otherwise. Through the years and reflections on times past, we see Sophie and Mina’s friendship grow (and their love) and the events that surround Mina’s death. There is mystery and intrigue about the secrets both the girls kept, and how they knew everything about each other with the simplest touch or glance, yet would hide things–even from themselves. Sophie feels lost without her friend, but after struggling through her grief in an unnecessary stint in rehab, she vows to discover a secret about Mina she never knew, and find the person(s) responsible for her death.

This novel not only is a murder mystery, but ultimately a reflection on grief, how one struggles with addiction, friendship, and love. I figured this was just going to be another angst-filled story about some obvious-killer-boyfriend who “accidentally” murdered Sophie’s best friend (and was “Gonna get her too!”). One of those that there seems to be dozens of out there. Then the story started to blossom and show deeper sub-plots and further mysteries that were hidden from the reader. It became more a story of a hidden love between the two girls, and how they struggled to not only hide it from their friends, families, and lovers, but from themselves. There was real, raw pain behind many of the girls’ actions, especially when Sophie started to fall deeper into her drug addiction. I liked how Sharpe didn’t immediately make it an unrealistic dive into the drug world, but a slow and irreversible descent. Sophie was in real pain from her car accident, and was struggling with the physical therapy and the realization she would never be the same again. That’s one of the things I could never stand from other books that talk about drug addiction…it seems so staged and unrealistic. But here, Sophie just digs herself deeper into it, even astonishing herself when she steals her father’s prescription pad, and prolongs her unnecessary pill-popping.

The greatest thing from this book was the realism; the emotions of the family members, the betrayal of friends for love, unrequited love, odd stages of grief (and how everyone handles it differently), and ultimately, just how people grow from trauma and great relationships. Sophie wasn’t the deepest or most well-rounded of characters, but you understood her emotions and actions, and how they aided her recovery from such death and self-destruction. Her relationship with Trev was full of tension and sadness, and her parents seemed, well, like parents. No one’s perfect, and all the characters were able to make mistakes here and there with little detriment to the story. I really enjoyed the realism, and gut-wrenching, tear-jerking moments. Sigh. But the ending. The wrap up with the criminals was a little odd, and felt misplaced. I felt the main story with Mina and Sophie’s relationship and turmoil was the real focus, and the murder mystery an afterthought. Besides that…pretty darn swell.

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Book Review: Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (graphic novel) by Denton J. Tipton

This illustrated story tells of the next villain to plague the colorful lands of Oz: The Jester. He’s the long-lost brother of the Wicked Witch of the West (WWotW), and he seeks to rule over the entire land of Oz by controlling the troupe of flying monkeys and threatening the villages across the land. Once the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and (no-longer-cowardly) Lion hear of his evil plan and witness the havoc he’s already wreaked, they devise a plan to bring the only thing that could save Oz: Dorothy Gale. They traipse across Oz, encountering new fantastical beings and lands, all while magically surviving attacks and setbacks. It ends with a cliffhanger, a mystery of what will happen to Oz and Dorothy–destined to be revealed in the upcoming animated film.

I think the colorful and minimalist illustrations meld well with the stories of Oz, and capture a small sense of how the mystical world would be, just as the movies and books have. It reminds me of Lisa Frank and the colorful, over-the-top girly-ness of it all. While the dark and evil colors of the Jester’s scenes do wonderfully juxtapose the bright and cheeriness of Oz, the Jester’s stupidity is slightly off. Since he is the brother of the WWotW, it seems like he would be just as evil (which he is). Yet, on the other hand, he is no where quite as bright. He has a method worked out for his evil plan, but fumbles and makes things almost comical. This is probably a good idea for a children’s book–lends to the lightheartedness of it and doesn’t seriously scare the living daylights out of a child. Reminds me of an extremely PG version of the Joker from Batman comics. A neat version of the L. Frank Baum stories; I’m definitely looking forward to the upcoming sequel to the story, Legends of Oz.

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Book Review: Little Monkey Calms Down by Michael Dahl

A cute and simple board book that relates a teeny monkey with behaviors of small children and babies. After dropping his ice cream and having a fit, calming activities help bring the little monkey’s temper down.

Monkey goes through several volatile emotions, many of which plague young children. This would be excellent for association with children; refer to them as “your little monkey” and try to tie this book with their actions. If your child gets upset or flustered, you could help him or her out with some of these easy phrases. You could sing a song, distract, or cuddle with your child to help them feel better. The bright alternating colors and large illustrations would help capture children’s attention, while simple involving actions would keep their focus. A good choice for toddler time or mother goose story time.

Book Review: Cress (Chapter 1 only!) by Marissa Meyer

So intriguing! After reading Cinder and Scarlet, I am anticipating this third book in the Lunar Chronicles series. I wish I could have had more than just a small sample, but the first chapter definitely helped stoke my curiosity. Like, why is Cress/Crescent a nickname for the “Rapunzel” character? I imagine it has something to do with a “crescent” moon since she is a prisoner of the Lunars…And what will happen with the group in the Rampion? Will Cinder ever be revealed as Selene? Aargh! The anticipation is killing me! I like the strange mix of technologies and classic stories; it helps keep the reader engaged while they ponder the connections of “Red Riding Hood” and “Wolf”, as well as the main, “Cinderella/Cinder” character. What new ability will she discover? And will her and Kai ever get together? Sigh. I guess I’ll just have to wait until the final chapters are revealed!

But ultimately, I really enjoy this series more than I thought I would. I thought the whole cyborg thing would be an odd detail that wouldn’t quite fit, but as it turns out, it became one of my favorite aspects. Cinder uses her abilities to her advantage, although she is ashamed of them. It fits in with the technological advances of the age, and ultimately makes her the ultimate leader. She has so many advantages, that its almost comical how others will look on her with revulsion or disgust. Its jealousy, people! Too much time has passed since I read the first two books…I like to review books right after I read them so I don’t forget any tiny details that I want to include. So, sadly, I don’t have a review for the first two. But will possibly review this in further detail once it comes out! Huzzah!

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Book Review: Here I Am by Patti Kim

 

This wordless graphic novel-like picture book follows a young Asian as he immigrated to, presumably, the United States. It portrays the confusion, disorientation, and homesickness one would feel if taken from all they know as familiar and thrown into a completely “foreign” situation. This young boy uses some imaginative techniques to help him remember his “homeland” and to bring a little of his old life into his new. A small mistake allows him to travel into this unknown land that he refuses to accept, and allows him to become familiar with what he feared and thought to dislike. His acceptance blossoms into a new life with friends, family, and appreciation for all these new discoveries.

The author immigrated at a young age, just as the protagonist, and feels that she was rejecting of the new possibilities, just as he did. She brought the story to life with brightly abstract sketches that almost make you feel like you are within this boy’s story–seeing things in flashes and broken with misunderstanding. They grow in vibrancy and clarity as he becomes more familiar and begins to experience all the exciting things within the city. His once closed mind opens to new opportunities and his misplaced “seed” blossoms into a new life. I really enjoyed the change of seasons to illustrate the year that passed and all the things that occurred. He ventures into the unknown with fear, shown with angry faces and confusing illustrations, which turns into his appreciation for the food, smells, colors, and wonderful things around him. A really enjoyable wordless/graphic novel-like book. I would highly recommend for those children brought over when young and still adjusting to the newness of a foreign place. Extremely helpful if they are still learning the local language. Loved it!

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Book Review: Alanna- Song of the Lioness Book One by Tamara Pierce

Alanna Trebond and her brother Thom decide to switch places to truly achieve their desire and idealized destiny. Alanna wishes to learn swordplay and become a knight, while Thom, who is not very good at these things, wishes to become a powerful sorcerer and wizard. To achieve these vastly different futures from the ones planned for each of them by their scholarly obsessed father, Alanna decides to pretend to be a boy. This allows her to travel to the royal city and study to be a knight, while Thom will go to the convent where young boys study to be a sorcerer alongside the girls studying to be women. While she may be the smallest of the pages and squires, Alanna trains hard, on her own and with others, to defeat bullies and prove herself. She makes quick friends with Prince Jonathan and his companions, and makes herself indispensable amongst the court with her bit of the “Gift” (magic) that she possesses. After saving the life of the prince and aiding the castle healers with her power, she is chosen to accompany Jonathan to the land of the Bhazirs, or desert people. Once in the land, they learn of a magical dark city, one Alanna has seen in dreams and prophecies. Jonathan decides to sneak away to defeat the evil in the city, and Alanna has no choice but to follow and protect her friend.

Alanna is a very strong and intelligent girl, and was incredibly interesting to follow. This book didn’t seem to have a lot of background details and fully rounded characters, but I did enjoy the witty banter Alanna brought to conversations. It seemed very lopsided to present a pair of siblings, twins no less, and hardly have mention of her brothers’ tale or life once they parted ways. While I understand this story was about Alanna and not Thom, it still seemed odd to only mention him once toward the end. This very slightly reminded me of Hero and the Crown, but didn’t seem to be as multi-layered or as comprehensive. I liked the story line very much, but it just seemed incomplete. I feel like if it were another 100 pages or so, it would have been better. I plan on reading more into the series to see if the characters are better developed or if the details improve. It was light and entertaining to read, but just felt….incomplete. I know this a terrible description, but there were just so many details I wish were included! Three years passed in a blink of an eye, it seemed, and things were just hunky dory. Oh well. Hopefully it continues to improve! I think I was just too busy comparing it to others.

 

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Book Review: Happy Birthday to Me

This short book follows Cameron as he cavorts through his teenage, high school senior year as the typical popular jock. He has the hottest girlfriend, is completely full of hisself and his toned abs, and is blase about his family and anyone else who cares for him. This sets him up to learn the ultimate life lesson, and feels almost cookie cutter in it’s delivery. A mysterious waitress at a random pizza parlor gets fed up with his attitude, popularity, and treatment of others–so she gives him the ultimate “gift” for his fake birthday. This gift makes him age one year every single day.

Doctors attribute this accelerated aging to Progeria, and Cameron is ultimately resigned to his fate. He slowly starts to change his demeanor and feelings towards life…mainly because he can’t get by on his looks and cocky teenage attitude any longer. This just seemed like a lifetime movie to me…very predictable, and not too surprising. I did enjoy the use of typical teenage language (expletives, retard, etc.) and activities (drinking, partying, etc.) and that the author didn’t whitewash these normalcies with unrealistic language and politically correct behavior.

I did laugh out loud at Cameron and Mrs. Gordon’s “interaction” toward the ending, and wasn’t surprised at Cameron’s outburst at his emotional realization that things weren’t going to get better. It was an emotional ending and did hold a few surprises. It was a light book, and questioned the age-old (pun) question of what we would do if we had that chance to do-over highschool/youth/etc.

I do have to say that the ending with the basketball game was predictable, Charisma’s real personality showing through was forseeable, and Cameron falling for a certain someone was just saccharine sweet. The magic that shone through was interesting yet over the top, and the God scene was kind of random. All-in-all, a good book–fun and easy for a summer read.

Book Review: Ink

In this story, a gaijin from America comes to Japan (not her choice), and briefly struggles to fit in and adapt to the completely new way of life. She becomes aware of a “bad boy”, Tomohiro, and is drawn to his air of mystery and intrigue…if not his infuriating way of getting under her skin. Little by little as they get closer, she finds herself getting comfortable with the way of life and settling into friendships with others at the school. She challenges Tomohiro, and he continues to surprise and confuse her with his strange artistry and plethura of secrets. She falls deeper and deeper into a life she never thought she would lead, and has dangerous encounters that all tie back to Tomohiro and his deep secret.

I fell in love with the cover art, and was not disappointed with the story in the least. The story revolved around the art and calligraphy, and I was pleased with all the mentions of local Japanese dialogue, customs, food, scenery, and folklore. The characters were easy to follow, and I found myself wanting to hold on to the language and Japanese mannerisms even after completing the book. While the work wasn’t “poetic”, I found there was beauty in many of the events throughout the book–such as the blooming of the cherry blossoms, the laid back way of the city and transit, the way Tomohiro and Katie or Jun and Katie spoke with one another, and even in the kendo matches. While she has always been brave, Katie transforms into a new and stronger person, testing her limits and trusting herself with the one person that could cause her the most danger.

It seemed like the story was twisting itself left and right, and the plot was surprising after certain events (Yakuza, Jun, etc.), but still felt familiar. I felt like I knew what was going to happen, then was taken aback when Katie, Tomohiro, and even Ishikawa would do unpredictable things. I enjoyed the honor that many of the characters exhibited, but still some things seemed PG when they could have been much more gruesome. The mystery that still surrounds the story is drawing me in and I know I will definitely check out the next titles!