Human.4 (YA)

Human.4 Mike A. Lancaster. 2011. Egmont USA. 240 pages.

When Danny Birnie told us that he had hypnotized his sister we all though he was mad. Or lying. Or both.

Our narrator, Kyle Straker, is living in a strange, strange world where he and three others have suddenly become irrelevant. It started when he volunteered at a local talent show to be hypnotized. It wasn't that he wanted to volunteer, just that in a moment of weakness he had pity on Danny while he was doing his act. His former girlfriend, Lilly, also happened to volunteer just about the same time he did. Two adults, Mrs. O'Donnell and Mr. Peterson, also volunteered. All were hypnotized. All woke up in this strange, strange new reality.

This book is part science fiction, part horror, and part mystery. It was a quick read! I liked it. I wouldn't say I loved it. But for a quick premise-driven read, it was a good choice.

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2011 , dystopia , Egmont USA , international literature , library book , YA Fiction , YA Horror , YA Mystery , YA Science Fiction

Five Children and It (MG)

Five Children and It. E. Nesbit. 1902/2004. Puffin Classics. 240 pages.

The house was three miles from the station, but before the dusty hired fly had rattled along for five minutes the children began to put their heads out of the carriage window and to say, 'Aren't we nearly there?' And every time they passed a house, which was not very often, they all said, 'Oh, is this it?' But it never was, till they reached the very top of the hill, just past the chalk-quarry and before you come to the gravel-pit. And then there was a white house with a green garden and an orchard beyond, and mother said, 'Here we are!'

It has been almost two years since I first discovered E. Nesbit. Five Children and It was the very first of her novels that I read, and it was definitely LOVE from the very beginning.

The five children are Robert, Cyril, Anthea, Jane, and Lamb. The 'it' is a sand fairy--a Psammead. The four children discover him one day during their summer vacation while they're digging in a nearby sand pit. They're quite delighted to learn that he can grant wishes. Though it's easy for anyone to see that he doesn't like granting wishes all that much. Still, the children are happy to think of one wish after another after another. A wish per day is what they're allowed. And oh the wishes they think up!!! But it doesn't take them very long to realize that they're not all that smart and clever with those wishes. For almost every day their wish leads them into TROUBLE. If wishing leads to trouble, why wish for anything? Well, even bad wishes make for a way to spend the day.

This book is so much fun! Just a delight to spend time with these characters. I'd definitely recommend it!

My favorite quotes:

Grown-up people find it very difficult to believe really wonderful things, unless they have what they call proof. But children will believe almost anything, and grown-ups know this. That is why they tell you that the earth is round like an orange, when you can see perfectly well that it is flat and lumpy; and why they say that the earth goes round the sun, when you can see for yourself any day that the sun gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night like a good sun as it is, and the earth knows its place, and lies as still as a mouse. (5)

I daresay you have often thought what you would do if you had three wishes given you, and have despised the old man and his wife in the black-pudding story, and felt certain that if you had the chance you could think of three really useful wishes without a moment's hesitation. These children had often talked this matter over, but, now the chance had come suddenly to them, they could not make up their minds. (17)

But the happening of strange things, even if they are not completely pleasant things, is more amusing than those times when nothing happens but meals, and they are not always completely pleasant, especially on the days when it is cold mutton or hash. (54)

Lending ears was common in Roman times, as we learn from Shakespeare; but I fear I am getting too instructive. (59)

When the frock was darned, the start for the gravel-pit was delayed by Martha's insisting on everybody's washing its hands -- which was nonsense, because nobody had been doing anything at all, except Jane, and how can you get dirty doing nothing? That is a difficult question, and I cannot answer it on paper. In real life I could very soon show you -- or you me, which is much more likely. (59)

It is very wise to let children choose exactly what they like, because they are very foolish and inexperienced, and sometimes they will choose a really instructive thing without meaning to. (85)

The people who decide what the weather is to be, and put its orders down for it in the newspaper every morning, said afterwards that it was the hottest day there had been for years. They had ordered it to be 'warmer -- some showers', and warmer it certainly was. In fact it was so busy being warmer that it had no time to attend to the order about showers, so there weren't any. (86)

'I was always generous from a child,' said the Sand-fairy. 'I've spent the whole of my waking hours in giving. But one thing I won't give --that's advice.'
'You see,' Anthea went on, 'it's such a wonderful thing -- such a splendid, glorious chance. It's so good and kind and dear of you to give us our wishes, and it seems such a pity it should all be wasted just because we are too silly to know what to wish for.'
Anthea had meant to say that -- and she had not wanted to say it before the others. It's one thing to say you're silly, and quite another to say that other people are.
'Child,' said the Sand-fairy sleepily, 'I can only advise you to think before you speak--'
'But I thought you never gave advice.'
'That piece doesn't count,' it said. 'You'll never take it! Besides it's not original. It's in all the copybooks.' (89-90)

© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 1902 , brothers and/or sisters , children's classic , family , friendship , international literature , J Fantasy , J Fiction , library book , wish fulfillment

Ruby Red (YA)

Ruby Red. Kerstin Gier. 2011. Henry Holt. 336 pages.

I first felt it in the school canteen on Monday morning. For a moment it was like being on a roller-coaster when you're racing down from the very top. It lasted only two seconds, but that was long enough for me to dump a plateful of mashed potatoes and gravy all over my school uniform. I managed to catch the plate just in time, as my knife and fork clattered to the floor.

Gwyneth Shephard has been waiting and watching knowing that at any minute her cousin, Charlotte, could disappear. For Charlotte has the gene, the time traveling gene that has been passed down through the women in the family. Charlotte has had several dizzy spells the last week, but so far, she's remained in her own time.

How does her family "know" that Charlotte is the one? Well, according to the prophecy--or the prediction--the one will have been born on October 7th. Gwyneth, who was born on October 8th, has nothing to worry about. She's not the one.

Does she want to be the one? She's never really given it that much thought. Every member of her family has their own eccentricity, their own "gift." Even if those gifts are just laughable--such as her great-aunts visions. No one takes those visions seriously. And no one--outside her best friend--takes Gwen's gift seriously, Gwen's gift of seeing ghosts.

So what will happen to this very strange, very dysfunctional family when the "wrong" girl vanishes into the past? For Gwyneth it is beyond confusing. She never knows when it will happen, when she'll be pulled back into the past, at what year she'll travel to, what dangers she may be facing, how long she'll stay before returning to her own time. What Gwyneth needs most are answers to her questions.

But answers are hard to come by. For the guardians like to keep their secrets. And Gideon her traveling companion? Well, what does she really know about him? Except for the fact that he feels cheated or disappointed. So they're not off to the best of starts...

I liked Ruby Red. I'm not sure I loved it. It made me curious, I won't lie. But there are still so many questions. I do feel this is just the beginning, that this was just the prologue for all that is to come. So it's got some promise, some potential. But on it's own, well, it doesn't quite satisfy. It leaves me wanting the next book. (Which is NOT a bad thing necessarily!)


© 2011 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 2011 , Henry Holt , international literature , review copy , YA Fiction , YA Paranormal , YA Romance , YA Science Fiction

Miss Hargreaves

Miss Hargreaves. Frank Baker. 1940/2009. Bloomsbury. 336 pages.

From the prologue: 'Miss Hargreaves-' I murmured. 'Miss Hargreaves-?' I leant over the rail and looked into the darkness of the Irish Sea. It was night. The lights of our boat were the only lights upon the black water. No answer came from the sea as I murmured that name. And yet, it seemed to me that very faintly in the cold December air, in the wind, I could hear the sighing of my own name. 'Norman - Norman- Norman -'

From chapter one: When I wrote essays at school I was always told to begin at the beginning and end at the end. I'm not at all sure that this story has an end. As for a beginning - well, in my opinion, it really begins - as I began - with my father. Anyway, that's where I'm going to start.

I loved this one. I just LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this one. I will tell you what it is about. And I will try to convey just how much I loved it -- and why. And I hope to convince you to give it a chance -- at least. But I'll start with why I picked it up. I saw this one in the new books at the library. I was drawn to the cover. But. What really made me take it home was this jacket description:

When, on the spur of a moment, Norman Huntley and his friend Henry invent an eighty-three-year-old woman called Miss Hargreaves, they are inspired to mail a letter to their new fictional friend. It is only meant to be a silly, harmless game--until she arrives on their doorstep. She is, to Norman's utter disbelief, exactly as he had imagined her: eccentric and endlessly astounding. He hadn't imagined, however, how much havoc an imaginary octogenarian could wreak on his sleeping Buckinghamshire town. Norman has some explaining to do, but how will he begin to explain to his friends, family, and girlfriend where Miss Hargreaves came from when he hasn't the faintest clue himself? Will his once-ordinary, once-peaceful life ever be the same again? And, what's more, does he want it to be?

After reading that description, how could I not take it home? It screamed read me, read me, read me! (To be honest, even one read me would have worked. After all, I take home many books each week! Still, I knew this one would have to be read.)

So what is it about? It's about Norman. A young man who has a way with words! He's creative, imaginative, a real storyteller. It's not that he lies--not all the time--but he invents the truth as he goes along. Blending truth and fiction--at times. As I said, it's not like he never tells the truth. Seeing Norman interact with his father--oh, how I loved them both--you can see why Norman is the way he is. When Norman and Henry, his best friend, are on holiday, they stumble into an old church. Norman protesting all the way, mind you. But on this impromptu tour, these two invent an old woman, Miss Constance Hargreaves. The man giving the tour believes them--of course, why should he suspect them?--he believes their tale of this woman who was a childhood friend of the dearly departed Mr. Archer, even asks them for her address. The two are having such a great time with this joke that they take her with them when they go. Throughout the rest of their holiday, they continue telling stories about her. They imagine what sort of life she's led, where she'd be living, give her hobbies and pets, etc. In another "spur of the moment" they write her a letter. In this letter, they even ask her to come visit! It's nonsense pure and simple. But nonsense with consequence as Norman learns!

When Norman returns home, he learns just how big a mistake he's made. For he learns that she is coming. There is a Miss Constance Hargreaves coming to visit him! Is truth stranger than fiction? Is Miss Hargreaves a real woman? Or is she Norman's creation?

I walked home about ten with very mixed feelings. Perhaps I ought to try to tell you about them, otherwise you'll be running away with the idea that this is meant to be a funny book. It is not; it is a very serious book; it is an account of the most amazing thing that ever happened to me, a thing that altered the whole course of my life. So please keep that clear. And remember it's true; I haven't made a thing up -- except Miss Hargreaves in the first case. (76)

Mrs. Huntley's description of Miss Hargreaves:

Miss Hargreaves is a fantastic person. You know, I can't help liking her. Of course, I can easily understand how difficult it must be for you, Norman dear. I think one would get quite fond of her, and yet never want to set eyes on her again. (151)

Is it a funny book? It's a witty book. I enjoyed that aspect of it very much. But it isn't only that. Norman's quite right about that! It's quirky and creepy. Miss Hargreaves and Norman would definitely feel right at home in The Twilight Zone.

What did I like about this one? I loved so many things about it! The characters. The relationships. The premise. The story. It just worked really well for me! I found it very compelling! I found it difficult to put down. It's wonderfully quirky and deliciously sinister.

I would definitely recommend this one! I loved it so much and I would love to see other readers pick this one up! Miss Hargreaves deserves to be widely read!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in 1940 , 2009 , adult fiction , classics , international literature , library book