Well, I feel like I made up for my reading rut this month. I completed a whopping 8 books. For the eighth review, see this post. Most of them were short and sweet, though, so I felt like I accomplished a lot.
First up was the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Subtle Knife. This book continues exactly where The Golden Compass ends. Introduced in this book, is one of my favorite characters, Will Parry. Will is from our own world and is one of my favorite boy characters in all of literature. This book is great because the reader travels to different worlds and also gets a better sense of the big picture and where Pullman is going. This is both a former co-worker and my husband's favorite book in the trilogy. I'm still completing my personal favorite, The Amber Spyglass. I read it during my meal breaks at work, so it is slow going.
Next up was a book I've been meaning to read for a while, Small Steps by Louis Sachar. This is a continuation of the book Holes although it focuses on a different character named Armpit. Armpit lives in Texas and is trying to rid himself of his bad boy image by taking small steps. Unfortunately, trouble finds him in a ticket scalping scheme. Through this, he meets a famous singer, who has many problems of her own. A series of misunderstandings takes place before things are resolved and Armpit can continue his small steps. This book was "meh." It was a quick read, but not nearly as exciting as its predecessor.
Next up was Amy Kathleen Ryan's Vibes. I actually saw the author speak at the Colorado Association for Libraries conference. She was very engaging and talked about how this, her second book, was marketed better than her first novel for teens. Vibes is about a girl who is convinced that she can read minds. She is weird and not popular and is comfortable with this situation until she is assigned to a year long project with an older popular boy, who just happens to be her estranged best friend's older brother. She is also dealing with her (also) estranged father's return from Africa, and the discovery that he has found another woman. The main character is very endearing and this novel is a great example of how books inspire empathy. This was an excellent light read.
Up next was the book that inspired the movie (which I have yet to see) Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This book is awesome. I wouldn't recommend it though if you happen to be offended by strong language, because there is plenty of it. While I refuse to believe that all teens stay out all night partying with bands (it makes me again realize just how boring I was as a teen) I thought it was a very true representation of the current teen culture. Most of the songs are not real, so don't go searching your favorite music site for them because the bands don't exist. Overall, if you're looking for a quick, action-packed book, without blood, guts, and gore, than this is the book for you. I loved it.
I then decided to dive into some nostalgia and read the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I read a few of these books back in middle school and thought it would be fun to read the series again, because now I can read more (she still publishes these.) The Agony of Alice details the life of Alice during her 6th grade year. Alice moves to a different town in Maryland, which of course means that she goes to a different school. When she finds out that she is assigned to the frumpy teacher instead of the beautiful teacher, she becomes a brat and rebells in various fashions. By the end of the year though, she has learned from her mistakes and comes to admire the frumpy teacher. She also acquires new friends and even obtains a boyfriend by the end of the year. This book is cute. I distinctly remember being read this book in sixth grade, especially the part where Alice first menstruates. It was an awkward moment listening to my teacher skirt around that!
My absolute (and unexpected) favorite read of the month was Siobhan Dowd's Bog Child. I read her A Swift Pure Cry earlier in the year and was extremely saddened to find out that she passed away in 2007 from breast cancer. I had nightmares the first night I started this book, and felt deeply affected by it the entire time I read it. The novel takes place in Northern Ireland (near the southern border) during the early 1980s. While illegally digging for peat with his uncle, Fergus discovers a body in the bog. After the body is excavated, Fergus and a team discover that the bog woman is from the bronze age and her body had been in the bog well preserved for a very long time. As Fergus struggles with his A levels and a brother on hunger strike in jail (think Northern Ireland in the early 80s) we learn the story of the ancient girl through Fergus's dreams. While this book has some very sad parts, I thought it was beautifully written and I'm sad that Dowd is no longer with us.
Last, but not least, was another Alice book (expect a lot of these in the future.) It's the summer between sixth and seventh grade and Alice is struggling with the demands of having a boyfriend and all that comes with it. She also continues her friendship with two girls she met in sixth grade, Elizabeth and Pamela. Alice notes her jealousy of her friends' looks and often remarks on her own lack of grace. She often wonders why her boyfriend Patrick is even interested in her. She experiences many firsts during the summer and enters junior high semi-confident from these firsts, yet somewhat uncertain of the future. Again, a cute book
Well, that is it for November. December will not bring as many reviews, but it's all about quality, not quantity, right?
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