The Lost Hero (MG)

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (#1 Heroes of Olympus) 2010. Hyperion. 576 pages.


Even before he got electrocuted, Jason was having a rotten day.

I had my doubts. Even though it's Rick Riordan, I had my doubts. How could The Lost Hero hope to compete with The Lightning Thief. It could be good, it could even be really good. But how could it really compare with such a great book?! For me, that was THE best book, the one that was the best of them all. Yes, the series as a whole was a good adventure, but the first one? Well it was OH-SO-MAGICAL!

I was surprised by how much I loved this one. I thought it was a great read. Compelling, exciting, and magical!!! It has multiple narrators. Now practically every book with multiple narrators has me sharing with you how much I really don't like that element in books, but with this one it WORKED and worked well. It didn't feel awkward or silly like it does in Rick Riordan's other series--The Kane Chronicles, The Red Pyramid and The Throne of Fire.

Our narrators, our heroes and heroines, are Jason, Piper, and Leo. Two have been under the protection of Coach Hedge, the third appears out of nowhere on a school field trip. The mist effecting everyone's memories--even Piper and Leo. (Piper just KNOWS that Jason has been her boyfriend for weeks. She can almost remember every moment they've ever shared.) But trouble is coming and the three will have to fight to survive long enough to reach the safety of Camp Half-blood. To complicate matters, Jason has NO MEMORY at all of who he is or where he came from.

So the book does feature a quest, and it is EXCITING. I won't go into the details of this one. Chances are if you're familiar with Percy Jackson and his series, then you'll want to read this new series anyway. And if you haven't read Percy Jackson yet, if you've yet to discover the joys of The Lightning Thief, then this is NOT the place to start your journey with Rick Riordan.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , book I bought , Greek Mythology , Mythology , Rick Riordan , series , YA Action , YA Adventure , YA Fantasy , YA Fiction

The Search for Wondla (MG)

The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 477 pages. 

Eva Nine was dying. The tiny scarlet dots on her hand mirrored the glowering eyes of the snake that had just bitten her.

I didn't love The Search for Wondla. I'm not even sure I liked it. One of the reasons it didn't quite work for me was that the ending left me unsatisfied. I wanted to shout at the book, "That's not an ending!" Then again, maybe it's not fair to judge a first book in a series by the ending.

Eva Nine, our heroine, may just be the last human on the planet. She has spent her whole life underground in Sanctuary. She was raised by a robot--albeit a robot with a mothering program built right in. (Muthr is always, always nagging Eva Nine to do this or that. Little things like picking up her room, etc.) When the novel opens, Eva Nine is in the middle of a test to determine if she's ready to live Sanctuary and venture into the real world above ground. Her muthr isn't convinced that she is ready. But she's going to give her one more chance, if Eva Nine doesn't improve, well, they may just have to go back to the basics.

Six Basic Survival Skills for Humans
1. Trust technology
2. Signal others
3. Find shelter
4. Create fire
5. Procure food and water
6. Know first aid

But ready or not, Eva Nine may be forced into the cruel, ugly world of unknowns. When someone breaks into sanctuary--destroying it in the process--Eva Nine is forced to flee the only home she's ever known. She is taking a few technological items with her, like her Omnipod, but what she soon discovers is that NO technology can protect her now, keep her safe, or guide her. The whole world--the whole planet--is unknown.

But Eva Nine won't be on her own for long, though her companions are not human--not even close.

The Search for Wondla is a blending of so many genres and subgenres. It's both science fiction and fantasy, in my opinion. It's an adventure story--a survival story. And of course it's one big mystery. Where is Eva Nine? What planet is she on? How did she get there? Is she really, truly the last human? Where did all these species come from?

The world Tony DiTerlizzi created is interesting. At times I found it confusing, I had to keep telling myself to keep reading and that it would start making sense eventually if I just read long enough. And that worked, for the most part. It helped when I decided the confusion might just be intentional. Eva Nine, our heroine, is thrust into a world that is completely foreign to her. She doesn't recognize any of the trees or plants. She doesn't recognize any of the life forms. These creatures--animals--speak in their own languages. She doesn't know what's dangerous and what's safe. She's completely out of her element.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , J Adventure , J Fantasy , J Fiction , J Science Fiction , library book , Quest , Simon and Schuster , Survival

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic (MG)

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic. Jennifer Trafton. With illustrations by Brett Helquist. 2010. Penguin. 352 pages.

From the prologue: There is a very good possibility that you will not believe a word I say. Alas, it is the risk all historians take. The truest things are often the most unbelievable.
There is an island in the world, a small but lovely piece of earth, which its inhabitants call (rightly or wrongly) the Island at the Center of Everything. On the day before my story begins, it was as nearly perfect a place as an island in the world could reasonably expect to be.

From the first chapter: On a dark night in a dense forest while the great wide wonder of the stormy sky threatened to burst through the trees and swallow her up, a girl lost her hat.
This would not be an event worth recording in the annals of history, except that the girl not only lost her hat, she lost her head. Which is to say, she panicked. When a gust of wind swept off her hat and sent it flying above the trees, she left the path she had been so carefully following to run after the vanishing blue speck. It is not surprising that when she finally recovered her head and sat down to think, she realized that she had now lost both her hat and her way home. 

I loved The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic. I just LOVED it. For me, at least, it falls into the practically-perfect-in-every-way category of books. The kind of book that you read and instantly fall in love with. The kind of book that you want to reread again and again. The kind of book that you want EVERYONE to know about so they can read it themselves and discover how wonderful it is.

Persimmony Smudge, our heroine, lost her hat and thus saved the world. For if she hadn't lost her hat, she wouldn't have gotten lost. And if she hadn't gotten lost, she wouldn't have been chased. And if she hadn't been chased, she wouldn't have sought refuge in a hollow tree. And if she hadn't been hiding in that tree, she wouldn't have heard the conspirators talking about digging for the king's gold. And if she hadn't heard about the gold, she wouldn't have known to warn the King. And if she hadn't warned the King, she would have never been sent on her quest. And that quest turned out to be oh-so-important. To the king, it was a joke. But some dangers shouldn't be laughed at! Especially when that danger is...

Well, of course, I'm NOT going to tell you!!!

This book is delightful. It's just a JOY to read this one! Great story! Great writing! Great characters! I loved Persimmony. I loved the characters she meets along the way. Some, of course, are friendly. Others not so much. King Lucas the Loftier, for example, is SUCH a brat when we first meet him. I liked Worvil the Worrier--he reminded me of Puddleglum from The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. And then there is the King's adviser, Professor Quibble. I loved the world she created. I enjoyed getting to know the different inhabitants of the island: the Leafeaters, the Rumblebumps, and the humans (Sunspitters).

It's a fantasy novel and adventure story--complete with quest. It also has a fairy tale feel to it.

A broom. A hat. A girl. A hole. Such small things in a big world. But without the small things, there would be no story to tell, and--most importantly--I would not still be alive to tell it. (14)

"I need more pepper. I can't live without pepper! Don't you know that my thirteenth birthday is less than two weeks away? How can I have a birthday party without any pepper to serve my guests? It would be...It would be...It would be extremely discumbersomebubblating."
"I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but I believe you mean discombobulating."
"How dare you tell me what I mean, Nubbins?"
"Of course, of course, forgive me! I did not hear you correctly at first. I often feel discumbersomebubblated myself."
"You do not. No one can feel discumbersomebubblated except a king." (18)

"Why don't you just build another house in a tree that stays put?"
"You mean move again?" he groaned.
"Well, anyway, that was brave of you, jumping onto a moving tree like that," she said, trying to make him feel better.
Worvil sat up quickly. "Brave? Was that brave? Oh, no! I'll never do it again, I promise."
"But someday you might--"
"DON'T! Don't say that word!"
"What word? I didn't even get a chance to finish!"
"You said might!" Worvil covered his face with his hands. "Of all the words that have ever been invented, that is the worst. All of the terror in the world hangs on the word might. The Leafeaters might kidnap me and keep me locked up underground forever. They might tie me to a tree and leave me to be eaten by poison-tongued jumping tortoises. A hurricane might flood the Willow Woods and both of us drown.."
"Well, there certainly isn't much chance of that happening!" said Persimmony. "The sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky."
"But it might. Anything might happen."
"Right. You might find your house again and live happily ever after."
"But I might not."
Persimmony stared at Worvil and discovered that she liked him. He was a coward, certainly, but he had Imagination. She liked people with Imagination. (42-43)

Life is a mess and a miracle. So pick up a broom and dance. (328)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , library book , YA Adventure , YA Fantasy , YA Fiction

Matched (YA)

Matched. Ally Condie. 2010. Penguin. 369 pages.

Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night? My wings aren't white or feathered; they're green, made of green silk, which shudders in the wind and bends when I move--first in a circle, then in a line, finally in a shape of my own invention. The black behind me doesn't worry me; neither do the stars ahead.

Cassia, the heroine of this dystopian YA novel, is on her way to her Match banquet. This is THE night where she will learn the identity of the man she'll spend the rest of her life with. It's also the day Cassia turns seventeen. Just one of many coincidences, perhaps, of Ally Condie's Matched.

For it is revealed that her match is her best friend, Xander. Usually, one's match is a complete stranger. The fact that she knows him--that she knows and loves him--well, it's a strange coincidence. But that's just the beginning. For when she looks on her microcard, a microcard that should be full of pictures and background information on her match--she catches a glimpse of another friend, Ky. For a moment, only a moment, it appears that Cassia has two matches. This kind of mistake should NEVER happen. And it's corrected by a visiting Official who tries her best to convince Cassia that it was a mistake, nothing more. Ky could never, ever, ever be her real match. Because he's not good enough to be anyone's match.

Any guesses which young man Cassia starts to fall in love with?

I enjoyed Matched. I wouldn't say that I loved it absolutely. But I enjoyed it. I found it entertaining and satisfying. I liked Cassia. I liked Ky. I liked Xander. I liked Cassia's family. Her brother, Bram, her father and mother, her grandfather. I was interested in the world Condie created. I liked the role poetry played in this one. How forbidden poems were used to help reveal some of the mysteries. It just worked for me.

Favorite quotes:

The almost-snow reminds me of a line from a poem we studied this year in Language and Literacy: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." It is one of my favorites of all the Hundred Poems, the ones our Society chose to keep, back when they decided our culture was too cluttered. They created commissions to choose the hundred best of everything: Hundred Songs, Hundred Paintings, Hundred Stories, Hundred Poems. The rest were eliminated. Gone forever. For the best, the Society said, and everyone believed because it made sense. How can we appreciate anything fully when overwhelmed with too much? (29)

Every minute you spend with someone gives them a part of your life and takes part of theirs. (65)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , dystopia , library book , Penguin USA , YA Fiction , YA Romance , YA Science Fiction

This World We Live In (YA)

This World We Live In. Susan Beth Pfeffer. 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 239 pages.

I'm shivering, and I can't tell if it's because something strange is going on or because of the dream I had or just because I'm in the kitchen, away from the warmth of the woodstove. It's 1:15AM, the electricity is on, and I'm writing in my diary for the first time in weeks. 

This World We Live In is the sequel to Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life As We Knew It and the dead & the gone. The novel opens at the end of April, it has almost been a full year since the asteroid collided with the moon and life forever changed. In the second novel starring Miranda Evans (and her family), life beyond the sunroom is explored more fully. In Life As We Knew It, there was a routine dullness. Since Miranda, Matt, Jon, and their mom, Laura, rarely ventured out of their two-or-three room sanctuary, there was a sameness to the end of the world. That isn't quite the case with This World We Live In. For this book is ALL about change. Everything is changing--and these changes are coming quite quickly, surprising just about everyone! Soon Miranda's world will include more people--expanding from four to eleven! Among the new people in Miranda's life are Alex and Julie Morales first introduced to readers in the dead & the gone. How will her world change? Will these changes bring hope and love to her bleak life?

This is the second time I've read the novel--the third time if you count listening to the audio book. The first time left me shocked. I couldn't feel satisfied. I couldn't feel hopeful. I couldn't feel much of anything. I needed time and space. I needed to reread the whole trilogy. I needed to see the big picture--to see if there was a big picture.

This World We Live In is a challenging read. It requires readers to care deeply and passionately about these characters, to become a part of their lives, and a part of Pfeffer's strange, cruel world. There is much to contemplate, much to discuss. Particularly when it comes to this ending. I won't go there for this review. I won't. I don't think it's fair to those who have not read the book.

While this one isn't my favorite of the trilogy, I do recommend it.

A year ago I was sixteen years old, a sophomore in high school. Matt was in his freshman year at Cornell and Jon was in middle school. Dad and Lisa had asked me to be godmother to their new baby. Mom was between book projects. I know I've gained a lot in the past year, but I woke up this morning and all I could think about was everything I've lost. No, that's not right. Not everything, everybody. Everything doesn't matter, not really. After a while you get used to being cold, and hungry, and living in the dark. But you can't get used to losing people. Or if you can, I don't want to. So many people in the past year, people I've loved, have vanished from my life. Some have died; others have moved on. It almost doesn't matter. Gone is gone. (61)

If you'd asked me a week ago what it would take for me to feel better, I would've said knowing how Dad and Lisa and the baby were, meeting a boy my own age, and running water.
Now I have all three. I guess I must feel better. (101)

"You don't have to beg here," I said. "We're happy to share."
"No one is happy to share," he said.
Alex looked down then or I looked up. I don't know how it happened, but we made eye contact, and for a moment I was drawn into his soul. I could see everything, the depth of his sorrow, his anger, his despair.
I feel sorrow and anger and despair. I don't think there's a person alive who doesn't. I sometimes feel like my sorrow and anger and despair burn inside me the way the sun used to burn on a hot July day.
But that was nothing compared to what I sensed in Alex. His sorrow, his despair was like a thousand suns, like a galaxy of suns. It physically hurt me to look into his eyes, but I couldn't break away. He turned his head first, and then he apologized, or maybe he thanked me. For Alex I think they're the same thing. (107-8)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , dystopia , Harcourt , library book , YA Fiction , YA Science Fiction

The Night Bookmobile

The Night Bookmobile. Audrey Niffenegger. 2010. Harry N. Abrams. 40 pages. 

The first time I saw the Night Bookmobile, I was walking down Ravenswood Avenue at four o'clock in the morning. It was late in the summer, at that quiet time of morning when the cicadas have given up but the birds haven't started in yet. I'd been walking for about an hour. 

Alexandra, our heroine, discovers the Night Bookmobile after a big fight with her boyfriend, Richard. This will change her life forever--for better or worse. For she meets her personal librarian, Mr. Openshaw, and sees just a glimpse of the magic behind the Night Bookmobile. It is her collection of books--every book she's ever read, every book she's ever started--though the print on the page stops where she did--every letter, every note, every cereal box. Some books are her own, others are from different libraries she's visited--all housed within "an enormous, battered Winnebago." It's almost too wonderful to be true. But since the hours of the bookmobile are from dusk to dawn, Alexandra's forced back into the real world--forever changed.

Have you ever found your heart's desire and then lost it? I had seen myself, a portrait of myself as a reader. My childhood: hours spent in airless classrooms, days home sick from school reading Nancy Drew, forbidden books read secretively late at night. Teenage years reading--trying to read--books I'd heard were important, Naked Lunch and The Fountainhead, Ulysses and Women in Love...It was as though I had dreamt the perfect lover, who vanished as I woke, leaving me pining and surly. 

In the same way that perfume captures the essence of a flower, these shelves of books were a distillation of my life. Here was A Distant Mirror, by Barbara Tuchman, which I remembered reading in a coffee shop while waiting for a blind date who never showed up. Here was my paperback copy of Anna Karenina, fattened by repeated reading. I picked up Gravity's Rainbow. As I fanned through the book I saw that the text stopped at page fifty-seven; the remaining pages were blank. I had never finished reading it. A popsicle stick served to mark the place I had not come back to. 

She becomes obsessed with finding the Night Bookmobile again, becomes obsessed with reading, never forgetting for a moment that everything she reads is being added to her collection. She imagines what her librarian might be thinking, imagines him taking an interest in her life. She doesn't find the Night Bookmobile often, but she does find it a few times. Just enough to keep her hooked, keep her obsessed. Just enough to influence her--sometimes in VERY UNHEALTHY ways.

This graphic novel is strange. (Twilight Zone creepy.) It definitely has its dark moments! I mean you might think it would be sweet and lovely and charming, but, that's not the direction this one heads. Did I like it? I'm not sure I did. There was something about it that was very disturbing. I did like a few things about it though. And I do think others might like it more than I did.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , graphic novels , Harry N. Abrams , library book

Night of the Living Trekkies

Night of the Living Trekkies. Kevin David Anderson & Sam Stall. 2010. July 2010. Quirk Publishing. 256 pages.

It was late winter of 2009, and Jim Pike was in Afghanistan.

Jim Pike, our narrator and a war veteran, is working security for a Houston hotel hosting GulfCon, a Star Trek Convention. But this convention will soon be unlike any other--for the convention--and eventually Houston itself--will be overrun with zombies. Pike teams up with an assorted crew of survivors--many Trekkies--their mission is to survive long enough to escape Houston, for they fear that when help comes, it will not be a distinguishing help. It's dramatic; it's violent; it's funny.

I am not a fan of zombie novels. I'm not. I am not a big fan of violence--blood, guts, etc. But I am a Star Trek fan. And I can appreciate a good, quirky read. So while this one may not be for everyone, I enjoyed spending an afternoon with this one.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , Horror , library book , Quirk , science fiction , zombies

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To. DC Pierson. 2010. Random House. 240 pages.

From the prologue: All the newspapers and TV pundits are calling this fall's freshman college class the "Symnitol Generation," but if the activity up and down my dorm hallway is any indication, this fall's freshman college class is the "Stand Around Each Other's Laptops and Play the First Thirty Seconds Of Every Song on the Hard Drive Generation." The noise makes it hard to sit and write this but not impossible.

From chapter one: I've got a system to keep people from seeing what I'm drawing.

I can't say I loved The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep And Never Had To. But I can say it was an interesting read: a coming-of-age novel with a science fiction twist. Our narrator, Darren Bennett, was a loner, a young guy trying to keep his life private. Not wanting anyone to know just how seriously he took his drawing, his stories. But then he meets Eric Lederer, a guy with an even bigger secret to keep, and it just happens that he shares his vision. The two begin working on the project together--creating stories and characters, outlining movies and books, etc. And the two become best friends. Even though Eric doesn't love everything about Darren--his bullying brothers, for example, and his friend's obsession with "his thing." And Darren doesn't love everything about Eric--his friend's reluctance to explore "his thing," and his way of disappearing for a day or two each month. What is Eric's "thing"? Well, it's what the call Eric's big secret: the fact that Eric doesn't ever sleep. He doesn't have to sleep. He has never slept in his entire life. Darren isn't the first person Eric's ever told. But he is the first person who has believed him. And he's the first person to become obsessed with it, to view it as a "super-power." But what Darren fails to realize is just how heavy a burden this "power" is for his friend.

As I said, it's a coming of age novel, so expect angst and rivalry. For what could separate these two friends? Could it be a girl? a drama queen?!

The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep And Never Had To has its moments. I enjoyed quite a few scenes in this one. But--for me--it wasn't quite love. The book had its light moments, its funny moments, it's social commentary. But. I had a hard time believing in the science fiction elements of this one. In Eric's power and ability. And the last third of the novel had me a bit confused--what was real? what was imagined? is Darren reliable as a narrator? are we supposed to like Darren? I do think other readers might like it more than I did.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , Adult Science Fiction , library book , Random House , YA Fiction , YA Science Fiction

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Helen Grant. 2010. Random House. 304 pages.

My life might have been so different, had I not been known as the girl whose grandmother exploded.


Set in 1998 in a small German town, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden focuses on one of the most challenging years of young Pia's life. Within the course of a year, well, her grandmother dies in a freak accident (yes, she explodes), her home life is torn apart as her parents argue time and time again about where they should live--England or Germany--and perhaps most importantly a handful of children--all young girls--disappear from the community.

Our heroine, Pia, is only ten. And before her grandmother exploded, well, her life was normal. Her life wasn't colored or tainted by association. (Some of her classmates refuse to sit by her in case exploding is catching.) But though she may not have many friends, she does have one true friend, Stefan. Yes, this friend is socially undesirable. Before her grandmother's death, she wouldn't have acknowledged he even existed. Still, he's the only one that speaks to her now. So their friendship has a chance to develop. What binds them together--in a way--is their curiosity over the disappearances of the other children. Together they're determined to solve the mystery. Turns out, that other children have vanished from the town through the decades. By listening to the gossip, they think they know the man responsible. But could the village gossips have it all wrong?

While I may not love this one, I certainly found it compelling and enjoyable.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , YA Fiction , YA Mystery

The Intrigue at Highbury

The Intrigue at Highbury: Or, Emma's Match. Carrie Bebris. 2010. Tor. 317 pages.

Emma Woodhouse Knightley, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition--a happiness recently compounded by her marriage to a gentleman of noble character and steadfast heart--seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-two years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.
With two notable exceptions: the Reverend and Mrs. Philip Elton.

I loved this one. I just LOVED it. Every time I pick up a Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery novel, I think I've found it, the one that I love above the rest. And such is the case with The Intrigue at Highbury. In this fifth mystery, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy find themselves at Highbury, the victims of gypsies! While most of their belongings are safe, they've lost two very precious heirlooms: a christening gown (soon to be needed for Anne Fitzwilliam) and a ring.

They seek the local magistrate--who happens to be Mr. George Knightley. Problem is, Mr. Knightley has concerns of his own. He was hosting a dinner party, a special celebration in honor of the recent marriage between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. And in the middle of the party, Frank's uncle, his adopted father, dies. The cause of death is suspicious at best. The local apothecary, Mr. Perry, feels he was poisoned. But who is the murderer? Frank Churchill, no doubt, has the greatest motive, but is he capable of the crime?

This one is told through multiple narrators. I equally loved Emma Knightley and Elizabeth Darcy. Carrie Bebris completely redeemed my perception of Jane Austen's Emma. I loved how Austen's original characters are depicted in this one. I loved seeing the "feud" between Emma and Mrs. E continue! I loved Emma's growth--how tender she is with Miss Bates now. And, of course, I loved Bebris' depiction of Elizabeth and Darcy. It felt so natural, so right, for Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley to become friends so quickly. As I said, I loved this one. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it.

See also: Pride and Prescience, North by Northanger, The Matters at Mansfield.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , adult mystery , library book , Tor

Heart of a Samurai (MG)

Heart of a Samurai. Margi Preus. 2010. [August 2010] Harry N. Abrams. 320 pages. 

Manjiro squinted across the expanse of glittering sea at the line of dark clouds forming on the horizon.

Historical fiction set in the 1840s-1850s. Manjiro may have dreamed about one day being a samurai, but, the truth is as a son of a fisherman, his "destiny" was to be a fisherman. Nothing more, nothing less. After a stormy beginning, Manjiro was lucky to be alive. For when he's out and about with a handful of other fisherman--all older, more experienced--their small boat becomes lost at sea. The young men (Manjiro's just fourteen) end up on a desolate rocky island. Their fate seems all too certain--starvation. But at the hand of "barbarians" (American whalers), they find new opportunities.

Unfortunately, these opportunities come at a heavy price. Because Japan's policies towards outsiders, if the men were to ever return they'd likely be killed because they've been "contaminated" by contact with the outside world. Manjiro accepts a special invitation from the Captain of the whaling vessel. He will--after several years aboard ship with the Captain--return with him to America, will become a part of the Captain's own family. He will be the first Japanese man in America. And the experience is something he never could have imagined! But will he ever get the chance to go home? For no matter how "lucky" he may be to have found a new life, a new family, he can't forget the family he left behind. He can't forget that he never told his mother goodbye--that he left without even telling her where he was going--fishing with friends. All these years, she had no way of knowing if her son was dead or alive. He has to find a way back to Japan if he can.

This historical fiction novel is based on a true story. It is historical adventure. Readers learn about his time at sea--on board a few whaling vessels. Readers learn about his time in America--his first experiences with school, with church,  with the community. Will he be accepted? Or will be seen as strange? as dangerous?

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , Harry N. Abrams , library book , YA Action , YA Adventure , YA Fiction , YA Historical Fiction

Five Flavors of Dumb (YA)

Five Flavors of Dumb. Antony John. 2010. [November 2010] Penguin. 352 pages.

For the record, I wasn't around the day they decided to become Dumb. If I'd been their manager back then I'd have pointed out that the name, while accurate, was not exactly smart. It just encouraged people to question the band's intelligence, maybe even their sanity. And the way I saw it, Dumb didn't have much of it. But they weren't in the mood to be reasoned with. They'd just won Seattle's annual Teen Battle of the Bands, and they were milking their fifteen minutes for all it was worth.

I loved this one. I just loved it. One of the reasons why I loved it so much was the narration. I loved our narrator, Piper. She's a (beautiful) girl who is accustomed to not being heard. Most people--if they notice her at all--notice her for the wrong reasons. Something that will be challenged through the course of the novel. Piper is practically daring people to take notice of her now. For this deaf girl is about to take on a big challenge: she's going to be a manager of a rock band. She's determined to make this band a real band--a band that earns money. But the band, for better or worse, seems to be clashing in all the wrong ways. (Original band members: Tash, Will, and Josh.) In impossible-to-ignore ways. It certainly doesn't help matters that two new band members have joined Dumb since it won the Teen Battle of the Bands (Ed, Kallie). Can Piper do the impossible? Can she be the brains of Dumb?

Another reason I loved Five Flavors of the Dumb was the richness of its characters, the depth of the relationships, particularly family relationships. Piper has complex relationships with her mother, her father, her younger brother, Finn, and her baby sister, Grace. Especially since Grace has just had her cochlear implant turned on. And the operation was paid for with Piper's college fund. So, you can imagine, some of the difficulties Piper is facing as the novel opens.

I also loved how surprising the novel was--for me. I found it warm and satisfying, in all the right places, as the relationships develop and the plot unfolds. But it's more than that. Yes, it's got heart and soul. But it's more than that. It's got humor. It's got drama.

Five Flavors of Dumb is a great coming-of-age story set in Seattle. I'm happy to recommend it!

Winner of the 2011 Schneider Family Teen Book Award.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , brothers and/or sisters , library book , Penguin USA , school , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Entice (YA)

Entice. Carrie Jones. 2010. [December 2010] Bloomsbury. 272 pages.

"Am I really not allowed to complain about being here?" I ask as we enter Bedford High School about an hour late for the winter ball.

Entice is the third novel in Carrie Jones pixie series. The first two are Need and Captivate. This series would be great for fans of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Marr. (Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, and Fragile Eternity immediately come to mind.) I'm sure there are other authors I could mention. (After all, were-creatures, faeries, and such are still exceedingly popular at the moment. Though pixies are not that prevalent, so Jones is unique in that.) So these books are assured an audience.

I enjoyed Entice. I did. I liked it better than Captivate. And perhaps even more than Need. Though it's been so long since reading the first novel, I can't say that with certainty. If there was a time I liked Nick, I don't remember. One thing I do know is that I like Astley. I do. He is one of the main reasons why I enjoyed Entice so much! (The mythology would be a second reason.)

Almost everything I say about Entice would spoil Need and Captivate. I could talk about the danger Zara and her friends face. I could talk about the tough decision she's been "forced" to make in the name of love. I could talk about how confusing this all is for our young heroine, Zara. I could talk about how great it is that Zara has such a supportive team of friends. She's facing a lot--but she's not alone. But. I think the less you know going into it, the better it will be.


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , Bloomsbury USA , pixies , review copy , YA Fantasy , YA Fiction , YA Paranormal , YA Romance

The Last Full Measure (MG/YA)

The Last Full Measure. Ann Rinaldi. 2010. [November 2010]. Harcourt. 218 pages.

"Where are you going, Tacy?"

Set in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863, The Last Full Measure is Ann Rinaldi's latest historical novel. It stars the Stryker family. Our heroine, Tacy, is fourteen. She has two older brothers and a father in the war. But during these troubling summer months, she's going to mature quickly. She'll have to having witnessed some of the atrocities of war. When the novel opens, Tacy's biggest problem is her brother, David, the brother who was unable to join the army because of his bad leg. He has been put in charge of the family; it is his duty to "protect" his mother and his sister, and to look after their home. The responsibility weighs heavily on him, transforming him into a man Tacy can barely recognize. Who is this bossy brother ordering her about? Who is this man that shouts and yells and threatens? Though, perhaps, Tacy needs someone to tell her no--for her own sake.

As the novel progresses, readers get a glimpse of the war, the battle as it unfolds. Readers see the harshness, the devastation, the madness of war. One might think that the battle itself would provide the climax of this one. That its darkest moments would be in the battle itself. But. That's just the beginning. And Tacy's darkest days come after the battle.

I found The Last Full Measure a compelling read. I read it in one sitting, in one afternoon. I enjoyed Tacy as a character. I liked her perspective. How she wasn't above questioning the world around her. And perhaps most importantly, how she wasn't perfect.

But it was a difficult read for me. I reached a point where I was like NO! Are you serious?! Why?! And after that point, it was hard for me to "like" this one. I'm not saying it's not a good book. I'm not saying that it isn't realistic. Or that it isn't well-researched. That it isn't true to the times. But still, it didn't go the way I wanted it to go.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , brothers and/or sisters , Civil War , Death and Dying , dysfunctional families , family , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt , review copy , war , YA Fiction , YA Historical Fiction

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (YA)

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan. 2010. [October 2010] Random House. 272 pages.

Imagine this: You're in your favorite bookstore, scanning the shelves. You get to the section where a favorite author's books reside, and there, nestled in comfortably between the incredibly familiar spines, sits a red notebook. 
What do you do?
The choice, I think, is obvious:
You take down the red notebook and open it.
And then you do whatever it tells you to do.

Dash and Lily are strangers when the novel begins, but they won't be strangers for long. For Dash--snarls and all--is up to the challenge Lily has presented, for the red notebook is hers. Her brother, Langston, wants her to find love, or maybe he just wants to keep Lily distracted this Christmas vacation, so he can have more alone time with his boyfriend. Their parents are out of town. Dash's parents are out of town as well. His mom with her new boyfriend; his dad with his new girlfriend. Dash and Lily take turns with the notebook, challenging each other to do things. The notebook binds them together. They are getting to know one another through their words. (It's fortunate Lily has a LARGE family.) But should these two meet up in real life?

Alternating chapters--it's narrated by both Dash and Lily--reveal this whirlwind friendship set in New York City during Christmas vacation. Dash hates Christmas. Lily loves Christmas. But though these two have their differences--their different outlooks and perspectives--they have plenty in common. This red notebook is a fun distraction, but it is also good at revealing the character's vulnerabilities. Lily learns more about herself through this experience as does Dash. They learn that writing can be very enlightening, and that words have power.

This book is the third collaboration between Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. And it is by far my favorite of the three. (I did not care for Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist or Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List.) I thought it was well written. There were elements of this one that I just loved. A few scenes that had me laughing out loud in the middle of the night. But as much as I enjoyed it--I didn't love it. I liked it. I really liked it.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , library book , Random House , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance

Captivate (YA)

Captivate. Carrie Jones. 2010. Bloomsbury. 276 pages.  

Sometimes there are these bizarre people who actually like physical education class.

Captivate is the sequel to Need. Both Need and Captivate would be good for fans of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Marr. (Wicked Lovely, Ink Exchange, and Fragile Eternity immediately come to mind.) It's YA fantasy with plenty of thrills--a dangerous romance. Zara, our heroine, is confused about many things. Her relationship with her father? Too complicated to fathom. Part of her hates the fact that she's had to lock him up so that the slaughtering of human boys would stop in her Maine town. But part of her realizes of course that while killing is never "good" it is sometimes necessary. She's also confused about pixies in general. After meeting--after rescuing--one pixie in particular, she's beginning to think for the first time that there may be a few good pixies out there. For this mysterious pixie--we don't learn his name (Astley) for quite a while--saves Zara time and time again. He seems to make it his business to keep her safe. (Which of course is threatening Nick's role in this drama.)

But there is one thing that Zara is NOT confused about. Her love for Nick. She loves him. Oh how she loves him. She needs him. She wants him. She can't stop thinking about him. He's her everything. He'd do anything to keep her safe. And she'd do anything to keep him safe.

Captivate is dramatic. For me, the highlight of this one was the introduction of Astley. I liked the scenes between Zara and Astley best.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , Bloomsbury USA , friendship , pixies , review copy , school , werewolves , YA Fiction , YA Paranormal , YA Romance

The Scorch Trials (YA)

The Scorch Trials. James Dashner. 2010. Random House. 368 pages.

She spoke to him before the world fell apart.

The Scorch Trials is the sequel to The Maze Runner. Thomas and the other Gladers thought the game was over. They thought they had beat the system. They thought they had been rescued. They certainly celebrated that victory. But the opening chapters of The Scorch Trials reveal that the games have just begun. Thomas and his friends will have to survive a second phase of testing in order to be "cured" of the disease that they've just recently learned they have. (Confused? Well, it's meant to be mysterious.)

What is Thomas' role in all of this? What clues to the present danger can be revealed in his dreams--his memories--of the past? And what about Teresa? The woman whom he can communicate with telepathically? Is she to be trusted? Or is she a betrayer?

The Scorch Trials was certainly an intense read. Very suspenseful. Very mysterious. It kept me guessing. I certainly didn't predict where this one was going.

I would recommend these to fans of The Hunger Games trilogy and the Chaos Walking Trilogy.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , apocalyptic fiction , dystopia , Random House , review copy , YA Action , YA Fiction , YA Science Fiction , YA Thriller

Ten Things I Love About You

Ten Things I Love About You. Julia Quinn. 2010. HarperCollins. 384 pages.

"The key to a successful marriage," Lord Vickers pontificated, "is to stay out of the way of one's wife." Such a statement would normally have little bearing on the life and fortunes of Miss Annabel Winslow, but there were ten things that made Lord Vickers's pronouncement hit painfully close to the heart. One: Lord Vickers was her maternal grandfather, which pertained to Two: the wife in question was her grandmother, who Three: had recently decided to pluck Annabel from her quiet, happy life in Gloucestershire and, in her words, "clean her up and get her married." Of equal importance was Four: Lord Vickers was speaking to Lord Newbury, who, Five: had once been married himself, apparently successfully, but Six: his wife had died and now he was a widower, and Seven: his son had died the year prior, without a son of his own. Which meant that Seven: Lord Newbury was looking for a new wife and Eight: he rather thought an alliance with Vickers was just the thing, and Nine: he had his eye on Annabel because Ten: she had big hips. Oh, blast. Had that been two sevens?
Annabel sighed, since that was the closest she was permitted to slumping in her seat. It didn't really signify that there were eleven items instead of ten. Her hips were her hips, and Lord Newbury was presently determining if his next heir ought to spend nine months cradled between them.

Ten Things I Love About You is the sequel to What Happens In London. It stars Sebastian Grey, the handsome cousin of Sir Harry Valentine. He is spending a lot of time (especially meal times) with Harry and Olivia. What he does outside of their company may shock society--at first--and it's not seducing married women. Every one knows he does that. (Hint: his real secret is revealed in the prologue. So it isn't a secret for long. And it's a rather delightful secret, in my opinion. But I hesitate to mention it because even though it is revealed early on in this book. It might effect how others read What Happens in London.)

The heroine, Miss Annabel Winslow, meets our hero when she is running away from Lord Newbury. The good news? Newbury's lusty advances were thwarted in time. It doesn't make Annabel feel any cleaner. She's still disgusted by the thought of his hands on her body--anywhere on her body. But at least she escaped...this time. She doesn't know Sebastian's name. He doesn't know hers. But for whatever reason, they're able to talk to one another freely. In seclusion. Both know it's improper--she's obviously an innocent. Not his usual "type" at all. But there's just something drawing them together...

When she does learn his name, well, that's when she learns how dangerous it could be. For Lord Newbury is Sebastian's uncle; he's next in line to inherit if Newbury doesn't have another son. She KNOWS that these two are enemies. And she knows that many, many people would disapprove of even the smallest acquaintanceship between the two. He has a horrible reputation. No one has to tell her that much.  (She did come across him politely "waiting" to return to the party after a secret meeting with a woman). So why can't she forget him?

I enjoyed Ten Things I Love About You. I loved Sebastian (though I can't tell you why) and I really liked Annabel. I also liked Olivia and Lady Louisa. While it is different (in quite a few ways) from What Happens In London, I thought it worked. It reminded me more of The Duke and I and When He Was Wicked.   

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , adult* romance , HarperCollins , Historical Fiction , library book

The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag

The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag. (Flavia de Luce #2). Alan Bradley. 2010. Random House. 364 pages.

I was lying dead in the churchyard. An hour had crept by since the mourners had said their last sad farewells.

I liked Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I did. But as much as I liked it, as charming as I found it, it wasn't quite love.

I LOVED the second novel in the series, The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag. I just LOVED it. Flavia is still Flavia. She's still eleven. She's still hating her sisters--but to be fair, they hated her first. She's still to be found in her chemistry lab doing experiments and uncovering the mysteries of poisons--that is when she's not out uncovering the town's secrets on Gladys, her bicycle, and breaking into the library's storage shed where old newspapers are kept.

The mystery begins with Flavia coming across a damsel in distress--a woman crying in the churchyard. This stranger, Nialla, is the assistant to the 'famous' puppeteer, Rupert Porson. The two were traveling the country in their van when it broke down. To earn the money needed to repair it, they agree to do two shows for the community. Performances of Jack and the Beanstalk. The first performance? Wonderful! Couldn't have gone any better. The second? Well, let's just say that it's a show no one will forget. It ends with the police questioning them all!

But as Flavia soon discovers, this isn't Rupert's first trip to town. And discovering his shady past--within the community--may just solve the mystery of who murdered him.

I loved this one. I loved the writing, the style. The descriptions, the details, were great.

"She was prattling. If I kept quiet, it wouldn't be more than a minute before she would be confiding her size in knickers." (20)

"Of the many phrases that came to mind to describe Cynthia Richardson, "good sport," was not among them; "ogress," however was." (30)

Here is Flavia's description of one of the musical "treats" before the show--both performed by church members.

Miss Lavinia, her eyes riveted to the music, was into "Napoleon's Last Charge," and I noticed for the first time that, as she read the music, her lips were moving. I couldn't help wondering what she was saying. There were no lyrics to the piece--could she be naming the chords? Or praying? Mercifully, she took it at a somewhat faster gallop than usual, and the thing was soon over--at least relatively speaking. (147)

Flavia on being eleven.

"You are unreliable, Flavia," he said. "Utterly unreliable."
Of course I was! It was one of the things I loved most about myself.
Eleven-year-olds are supposed to be unreliable. We're past the age of being poppets: the age where people bend over and poke us in the tum with their fingers and make idiotic noises that sound like "boof-boof"--just the thought of which is enough to make me bring up my Bovril. And yet we're still not at the age where anyone ever mistakes us for a grown-up. The fact is, we're invisible--except when we choose not to be. (112)

Alan Bradley is great at developing characters within a community. There are some eccentric people in this one! But it's got heart and soul too! I loved Flavia! I loved her spirit. I loved her intelligence, her curiosity. I would definitely recommend it!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , adult fiction , adult mystery , Historical Fiction , library book , Random House

Jane (YA/Adult)

Jane. April Lindner. 2010. Little Brown. 373 pages. 


The chairs in the lobby of Discriminating Nannies, Inc., were less comfortable than they looked. I sat stiffly in the one nearest the exit, where, feeling like an impostor in my gray herringbone suit from Goodwill, I could watch the competition come and go. 

As flawed as Jane is, I still found it giddy-making. April Lindner's novel, Jane, is a retelling of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Jane's "Mr. Rochester" is rock star, Nico Rathburn. This "bad boy" rocker has been on the right track for a few years now. He even has custody of his daughter, Maddy, which is why he needs a nanny. But not just any one will do. Jane Moore is chosen because she's clueless and classy. She's not one to read entertainment magazines, tabloids, and the like. She's more into art and classical music than most of her peers. She's good; she's honorable; she's boring. Or that is how she sees herself at least. But there is something about her that Nico can't quite resist.

I liked this one. I really, really liked it. The premise was great. I loved the decision to make Mr. Rochester a rock star struggling with his past and wanting a better future; a man who wants to redefine himself. The scenes between the two--which Linder did take some liberties with, by the way, worked for the most part. I found some of them to be giddy-making even. There were so many things that worked with this one. Was it perfect? No. Does it have to be? No!

What didn't quite work for me was the fashion of the novel. I get that Jane is plain. That she isn't really "of" the modern world. But I had a hard time believing her wardrobe all the same. (And even how she tried to style Maddy and Nico in a few scenes.)

I would definitely recommend this one.

Other reviews: Angieville, Steph Su, An Addicted Book Reader, Janicu's Book Blog, Elliott Review,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2010 , library book , Little Brown , YA Fiction , YA realistic fiction , YA Romance