I wanted to like this book. I really did. It seemed to be billed as a new Catcher in the Rye with a more modern twist.
Instead of Holden, I saw a whiny entitled brat. Yes, Holden was a whiny entitled brat too, but he made the reader care about what he was going through. Like Holden, Quinn is working through the grief of losing a sibling. But let's throw in Quinn being gay. Even Quinn says his life is playing out like a typical LGBTQ coming of age novel. Very much so. So much that it bored me. I made it to page 64 before bringing the book back to the WHHS LMC. I just couldn't care to read anymore of it. NOTHING happened in those 64 pages to make me want to keep reading.
This is the second book I've read that felt like Catcher, 2.0 version; the other being The Tragic Age by Stephen Metcalfe (I didn't review that here, imply what you will). Catcher was beautiful and meaningful and can't be redone.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Undertow by Michael Buckley
This book was part of the Olenick fund order, suggested to me by our vendor's hot books list. I was intrigued by the cover and hooked by the jacket snippet--hello, we are in Coney Island! How many books have I read and reviewed set there? Slight obsession to be sure!
This is book one in what I guess will be a trilogy. Book 2 is called Raging Sea.
Lyric and her friends once walked along the famous boardwalk at Coney Island carefree. Migraines her only problem, Lyric calls herself a former wild thing. Everything changed when a nation of sea dwelling humanoids came up out the sea and made the Coney Island beach their new home. Lyric and her mother Summer were there when the Alpha arrived. Fast forward a few years. The Alpha and those who have not fled Coney Island (undocumented immigrants without ID primarily) are about to face school integration. The President has declared several Alpha children will attend high school with their human counterparts, including Lyric and her best friend Bex (Bex actually has a subplot storyline with an abusive stepfather and a wonderful boyfriend who happens to be Latino).
We learn Lyric's mother is an Alpha, sent ahead 20 years earlier as some type of scout. Her particular race is something akin to Mermaids (again, this is Coney Island afterall). She will be viewed as a traitor for not returning. Because she lacks ID, she cannot leave Coney Island. Her husband, Lyric's father, is NYPD and vows to protect them. However, Lyric is recruited to teach the Alpha's prince how to be an American. Somewhat as expected, she falls for Fathom (all of the Alpha children are given English names that have something to do with Coney Island--Arcade, Bumper, Ghost, Luna, etc.). Lyric's father can't protect her from the various players and plots. There are racist gangs out to kill the Alpha, helped by a Governor with political aspirations who intends to rid New York of the Alpha.
The book is a statement on the way immigrants and minorities are treated in this country. Seriously, it couldn't be more timely.
I LOVED this book until about 3/4 of the way through. The ending felt rushed, too much was happening too fast to keep it all straight. It almost felt like the author had a page cap or word limit. I had to go back and reread several paragraphs because I felt I was missing things. The ending left me unsatisfied. However, that may be simply an attempt at a hook for the next book.
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what you're reading #read #whhs
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.
This is book one in what I guess will be a trilogy. Book 2 is called Raging Sea.
Lyric and her friends once walked along the famous boardwalk at Coney Island carefree. Migraines her only problem, Lyric calls herself a former wild thing. Everything changed when a nation of sea dwelling humanoids came up out the sea and made the Coney Island beach their new home. Lyric and her mother Summer were there when the Alpha arrived. Fast forward a few years. The Alpha and those who have not fled Coney Island (undocumented immigrants without ID primarily) are about to face school integration. The President has declared several Alpha children will attend high school with their human counterparts, including Lyric and her best friend Bex (Bex actually has a subplot storyline with an abusive stepfather and a wonderful boyfriend who happens to be Latino).
We learn Lyric's mother is an Alpha, sent ahead 20 years earlier as some type of scout. Her particular race is something akin to Mermaids (again, this is Coney Island afterall). She will be viewed as a traitor for not returning. Because she lacks ID, she cannot leave Coney Island. Her husband, Lyric's father, is NYPD and vows to protect them. However, Lyric is recruited to teach the Alpha's prince how to be an American. Somewhat as expected, she falls for Fathom (all of the Alpha children are given English names that have something to do with Coney Island--Arcade, Bumper, Ghost, Luna, etc.). Lyric's father can't protect her from the various players and plots. There are racist gangs out to kill the Alpha, helped by a Governor with political aspirations who intends to rid New York of the Alpha.
The book is a statement on the way immigrants and minorities are treated in this country. Seriously, it couldn't be more timely.
I LOVED this book until about 3/4 of the way through. The ending felt rushed, too much was happening too fast to keep it all straight. It almost felt like the author had a page cap or word limit. I had to go back and reread several paragraphs because I felt I was missing things. The ending left me unsatisfied. However, that may be simply an attempt at a hook for the next book.
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what you're reading #read #whhs
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.
Quick Check-in
Hey all--
So, it turns out I'm going to be having surgery just before Christmas (Dec. 19th). I will out on medical leave until at least January 23rd. At least I'll have plenty of time to read! ;)
I'm almost done with a new book I snagged from the Olenick order. Look for that review in a few days!
Also, if you search for Everyday Magic by Emily Albright or That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson on Barnes & Noble or Amazon, you might read a little snippet from someone you know! ;)
Speaking of SLJ, I have my next assignment, which I'll read after finishing my current book.
I decided to organize the yearbooks today (Counseling has commandeered the computer lab for Naviance and we don't have a single class in the Library today--say what?!?!).
Check this out:
That's my Dad (Class of 1974), me (Class of 1998), and my cousin Kaleb (Class of 2020)!
#bleedblue
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what you're reading #read #whhs
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.
So, it turns out I'm going to be having surgery just before Christmas (Dec. 19th). I will out on medical leave until at least January 23rd. At least I'll have plenty of time to read! ;)
I'm almost done with a new book I snagged from the Olenick order. Look for that review in a few days!
Also, if you search for Everyday Magic by Emily Albright or That Burning Summer by Lydia Syson on Barnes & Noble or Amazon, you might read a little snippet from someone you know! ;)
Speaking of SLJ, I have my next assignment, which I'll read after finishing my current book.
I decided to organize the yearbooks today (Counseling has commandeered the computer lab for Naviance and we don't have a single class in the Library today--say what?!?!).
Check this out:
That's my Dad (Class of 1974), me (Class of 1998), and my cousin Kaleb (Class of 2020)!
#bleedblue
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what you're reading #read #whhs
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review in The Rostrum
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.
Friday, November 4, 2016
The Borden Murders by Sarah Miller
I have always had an interest in this famous double murder in our neighboring state of Rhode Island. I've even visited the historic sites in Fall River. I heard about this new book, geared for young adults, and added it to our wish list. Thanks to the Denise Madera Olenick memorial fund, we were able to purchase it. It went on display with horror for Halloween week, and then I snagged it.
Many people know some variation of the jump rope rhyme--
Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks
And then when she was done (or when she saw what she had done)
She gave her father forty one
Andrew and Abby Borden, Lizzie and her sister Emma's father and stepmother, were brutally murdered with an axe or hatchet in August of 1892. The accused murderer was none other than Lizzie herself.
Often, Lizzie is portrayed as a teenage girl. In reality, she was over thirty and her sister Emma much older. The two sisters shared a home with their father and his much younger second wife, along with their housekeeper Bridget (for some reason called "Maggie"). There was strife in the family. Lizzie and Emma often refused to eat with their stepmother, either eating at different times or in a different part of the house. They were angry at their father for using part of their inheritance to buy a home for Abby's family members. These facts were used against Lizzie in her trial. Lizzie also faced rumors and gossip used as evidence.
In the end though, Lizzie was found not guilty in court. She continued to be tormented though, in the press and in public, for the remainder of her life. She even changed her name, to Lizbeth, in an effort to hide from her past. Her dying request was to be buried at her father's feet, and she left $30,000 to the Fall River Animal Shelter.
I like the way the book is written, much like one of my favorite books, The Murder of Helen Jewett. It is told in narrative, with facts from court records, newspaper stories, interviews, and letters.
The Borden murders have never been solved, if one believes Lizzie is in fact innocent.
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what your read #whhs #read
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review corner of The Rostrum
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.
Many people know some variation of the jump rope rhyme--
Lizzie Borden took an axe
Gave her mother forty whacks
And then when she was done (or when she saw what she had done)
She gave her father forty one
Andrew and Abby Borden, Lizzie and her sister Emma's father and stepmother, were brutally murdered with an axe or hatchet in August of 1892. The accused murderer was none other than Lizzie herself.
Often, Lizzie is portrayed as a teenage girl. In reality, she was over thirty and her sister Emma much older. The two sisters shared a home with their father and his much younger second wife, along with their housekeeper Bridget (for some reason called "Maggie"). There was strife in the family. Lizzie and Emma often refused to eat with their stepmother, either eating at different times or in a different part of the house. They were angry at their father for using part of their inheritance to buy a home for Abby's family members. These facts were used against Lizzie in her trial. Lizzie also faced rumors and gossip used as evidence.
In the end though, Lizzie was found not guilty in court. She continued to be tormented though, in the press and in public, for the remainder of her life. She even changed her name, to Lizbeth, in an effort to hide from her past. Her dying request was to be buried at her father's feet, and she left $30,000 to the Fall River Animal Shelter.
I like the way the book is written, much like one of my favorite books, The Murder of Helen Jewett. It is told in narrative, with facts from court records, newspaper stories, interviews, and letters.
The Borden murders have never been solved, if one believes Lizzie is in fact innocent.
Follow me on Twitter @RamblingsLMS
Tweet what your read #whhs #read
Submit your book reviews to The Westie Review corner of The Rostrum
All opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of Mrs. W.
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