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books and reading

Sweet Valley Confidential

There are books that I really want to read, but know better than to spend any money on them because the expectation level is so low. So when I saw a copy of this book at a Friends of the Library sale, I knew it was my chance to get it for dirt cheap. Sadly, I think the dollar I spent on the book would have been better spent elsewhere, because, folks, this book is awful. No lie.

I LOVED the SVH books when I was a kid, so when I had to read a book from my childhood for the books challenge, I was excited to have an excuse to revisit the twins. Elizabeth is my spirit animal. Jessica annoyed me so much, and even though they were twins, I was always frustrated with Elizabeth for not having a backbone and standing up to her sister’s nonsense. Well, this time around, that backbone was made of steel. Mild spoilers, but this happens in the beginning of the book, so it’s not that big of a deal. Elizabeth lives in NYC, having fled Sweet Valley because of the biggest betrayal she could endure. Behind her back, Jessica has stolen the one and only Todd Wilkins. WHAT???? Todd has realized his true feelings aren’t for Elizabeth, but instead, her twin. And out of sheer heartbreak, Elizabeth runs away to find herself, start a new job, whatever. She hasn’t spoken to her twin or Todd since she fled 8 months ago. Elizabeth is pissed.

Through a series of flashbacks from multiple perspectives (in a different font, just in case you get confused) we learn the whole story of how Jess and Todd fell in love. We also see our old friends again, Lila Fowler, Bruce Patman, Caroline Pearce, however most have small roles. Missing from the narrative is Enid, though. Maybe I didn’t read that particular book, but she and Elizabeth are no longer speaking and Enid is only referenced. Remember the one where Enid was in the plane crash?? That was my favorite SVH book!

Anyway, yada yada, side stories about the twins older brother Steven, Liz meets a new guy in NYC, there’s a big showdown at a party between Liz and Jess, nonsense really. Maybe I was naive back in the day, but I don’t remember the books being this nonsensical. This one felt way too edited to make sense. I don’t even really care that the plot was such a big cliche, but the writing itself was just terrible. I am fine with revisiting the characters, but at least try to realize that your audience is no longer 14 years old.

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books and reading

Parable of the Sower

I’ve had Octavia Butler on my radar for awhile. Several friends have recommended her. And, at some point, her books were really cheap on Amazon, so I stocked up on some ebooks. So when I had to read a book written by a person of color, I immediately though of her and chose Parable of the Sower, knowing absolutely nothing about it.

The story is in my favorite genre, dystopia, and even though I’m a bit burned out on these books, I still appreciate a well written one. Butler isn’t a YA writer, but her book falls mostly into this category. It doesn’t explain how the world is the way it is (takes place in the years 2025-2027) but the world has fallen apart and life is hard. She makes some adjustments to the world by creating fictitious illegal drugs. One drug makes people obsessed with fires. Another leaves people with hyperempathy. Lauren, our main character, has this ‘sharing’ because her mother took the drug while pregnant. Lauren feels others’ pain. When a person is shot, it feels like she has been shot.

Lauren’s family lives in a cul-de-sac in California, and even though they have a gate and guard their property, one night, several homes are set on fire and all the homes are robbed. Lauren is lucky to escape, but most aren’t so fortunate. She and a few survivors travel north, looking for a place to resettle and gather other travelers along the way. Lauren, even though she has never lived outside her cul-de-sac, is very street smart and knows not to trust others. However, the people she meets along the way prove just how desperate they are for help as well.

Lauren sees God as Change. And through her religious teachings, her God evolves into something not good or evil, but as simply the natural process of the world. She calls this new belief Earthseed. While traveling, she tells her group about Earthseed and her beliefs.

Butler skillfully tackles important issues like gender, feminism, sexuality, and motherhood with such creativity and honesty.  Every decision the characters made felt authentic and sensible, given their situation. There is a sequel to this book, and I’m really excited to revisit Lauren and her fellow travelers.

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Borne

It’s rare these days that I read a book as soon as it is published. I usually wait awhile, grab it from the library when I can, and go from there. However, when Jeff VanderMeer publishes a book, I will be first in line. And thankfully my library already had it on order and I was first in line to reserve it. I’ve read book the Southern Reach trilogy (fantastic) and the Ambergris trilogy (not so great), so I was curious to see where Borne fell within my judgements of his work, and wouldn’t you know, I’d say it is smack dab in the middle, maybe leaning a little closer to Southern Reach.

Rachel and Wick live in the Balcony Cliffs in a world that is governed by a giant flying bear named Mord. Yep, you read that right. However, when Mord sleeps, Rachel can climb on him and scavenge for things. And one day she found Borne. The size of her fist, appearing to be plantlike or some sort of anemone, she names him Borne because, although she didn’t give birth to him, he was “born” under her watch and care. And of course Borne doesn’t stay small. Rachel soon noticed that he’s growing quickly and never producing any kind of waste. Eventually Borne begins speaking and learning and their relationship is pushed to the limits. Wick doesn’t approve of Borne because he has no idea what Borne truly is (neither do we, but Rachel accepts him) and tensions arise.

There is a side story about the Company which is a, well, company that created Mord and assorted biotech. There is also a woman named the Magician who unofficially rules the lands where Rachel and Wick live. I promise this book is easy to follow; I’m just not good at explaining how crazy the world is.

Overall, I liked the book. It was compelling and you really get sucked into the world, even with its implausible giant bear. There are definitely remnants of Area X in this world, unintentional I’m sure. At one point, Rachel and Wick are traveling a long dark corridor and I kept wondering if some crazy language would be written on it, like in Annihilation. I feel like this world and Area X reside next to each other in alternate realities. I definitely recommend this book, especially because it’s just a stand alone book and well written, but if you really want his best work, go with the Southern Reach trilogy.

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Life After Life

The premise of this book is really interesting. Ursula Todd dies. A lot. And after she dies, she is reborn into her own life, making it a little farther than she did the last time. First time she dies, it is in birth. Another death sees her when she’s a toddler. Some when she’s a teenager. Others when she’s a young adult. No matter what, she always returns to her life. Every decision she makes, or doesn’t make, leads her down a different path.

Ursula is a great character, wanting the most out of life and making decisions other girls her age wouldn’t. Most of the story takes place between 1910s and 1940s where women tend to get married and have babies. In most of the story lines, Ursula doesn’t make those choices. The story doesn’t really have a plot because so many elements change with each decision. Sometimes Ursula makes excellent decisions and life is wonderful. However, most of the time life is hard. Living in England (or Germany) during WWII is hard, no matter what decisions a person makes.

And even though the premise was great, I just didn’t love the book. And my only complaint is that I just didn’t feel connected to anything. I liked Ursula quite a bit, but because there’s no true plot, seeing her make the same mistakes multiple times was just tedious. There’s a companion book to this one that follows her brother, Teddy. I’m not sure if it is the same concept or if it is an actual chronologically written novel. If it’s the latter, I will probably check it out, but I think I’ve had my fill of this reincarnation concept.

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Pet Sematary

I’ve read over half of Stephen King’s works and this was one of the several I hadn’t read. For the 2017 book challenge, I needed a book with a cat on the cover. I started The Master and Margarita, but after 100 pages, I was completely bored. So I hit the bookshelf looking at one cover after another and found our old hardback of Pet Sematary with an evil looking cat on the cover. Problem solved.

Back when I was teaching, a student loaned me his copy of the PS movie and told me I absolutely had to watch it because it was the best movie ever. Helpful note: it’s not the best movie ever. One of the worst, really. But because I had seen the movie, I knew the basic plot of the book. A family moves to Maine, comes across a Pet Semetary, but behind that is a Native American burial ground where magical things happen. It takes at least 200 pages for the big crazy stuff to start truly happening. However, like I’ve said before, SK is a master storyteller, so I was always entertained, even if nothing was really going on.

I wouldn’t say this is one of his best works, but it’s certainly not the worst. I appreciated the creativity of the story, how he so accurately described what it is like to be a parent, and the well explained history of the town. But if you are new to SK, don’t start with this one. I would select one of his more well known works like The Shining or It (especially with the movie coming up, eek!)

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books and reading

The Hour I First Believed

This is my third foray into Wally Lamb’s world. I read She’s Come Undone years and years ago and remember liking it, but not much about it. I read I Know This Much is True and couple years ago and was absolutely blown away. I loved it. So, when I had to read a book about a difficult subject for this year’s reading challenge, I knew who to turn to. So far, every one of Lamb’s books cover some difficult subject, or ten, but this one in particular resonated with me.

Caelum Quirk and his wife, Maureen, work at Columbine High School. Yes, that Columbine. Although, the Quirks are fictional characters, Lamb is using them as examples for what people went through after the tragedy. Caelum was out of town when the shooting occurred, but Maureen was in the library and heard everything that was said and done. Her PTSD becomes chronic, and she struggles with basic tasks.

These events happen only the first third of the book, so you know there is a lot more story to tell. The Quirks move back home to Connecticut to try and recover and returns to some form of normalcy. Along the way, they have major setbacks. I really enjoyed this story, but Caelum is really just a a giant asshole. It was a struggle for me to feel any kind of sympathy for him. He gets a bit better as the book progresses, and I know that no one is perfect, but he was really awful towards Maureen while she was struggling. There is a huge side story about Caelum’s ancestors that I didn’t find all that interesting. I admit that I skimmed much of that part (namely the letters his great-grandmother wrote.)

Overall, I gave the book 4 stars, in spite of the above mentioned deficiencies, because I felt that it was a personal preference rather than a lack of writing ability on Lamb’s part. His books are rarely easy to read, tackling the most difficult of subjects, but he is a great storyteller and I look forward to reading his other books.

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books and reading

On the Jellicoe Road

My favorite movie is What About Bob? for multiple reasons. Mostly because Bob is just so sweet and endearing. But there are many lines in this movie that I think about frequently. At one point, Bob is saying he treats people like phone calls. Sometimes you don’t connect with a person and you get a busy signal, so you just hang up and try again later to make a connection. Sometimes you meet a person and you just don’t click. Time passes, you see the person again, and the connection is made for some reason. I feel this exact same way about books. There are books that I *know* are amazing, but when I read them, I just don’t connect for whatever reason. On the Jellicoe Road was exactly this kind of book. I tried to read it twice before and just found it rather boring and confusing and I didn’t get very far into it. Enough people told me to give it another try, so I kept it on my Kindle looking for a reason to give it another go. With the 2017 book challenge, I vowed to read as many books that I already owned to complete the goal. And with the help of Goodreads, I was able to find many of the books I owned and had been meaning to read fit into one of the categories. On the Jellicoe Road is a story within a story. And simply knowing this information, I saw the book in a new light. I was no longer confused once I realized the format of the story. So, if you start this book, know that it is a story within a story (italicized parts are one story, regular print is another) and it will make so much more sense.

The basic story is about a girl named Taylor who has no family, attends a private school, and is in charge of a house of younger students. A big part of her job is negotiating territory wars of the land around the school. Other students (public school, town kids, etc) want access to the area. The territory wars was a bit too drawn out for my preference, but within that part of the plot, we meet some of the other players in the story, namely Jonah Griggs, who shares a mysterious history with Taylor. The one person around that Taylor cares about is a thirty something woman named Hannah, who one day up and leaves with no reason. Taylor feels abandoned and has no one to turn to. As the book progresses, we are given clues to Taylor’s past. She has no mother or father, she tried to run away from the school at some point, and other people seem to know more about Taylor than she realized.

The story is worth it. I promise. Even this time around, it took a little effort to get through the territory wars part, but once I got to 25% of the way through the book, the rest was smooth sailing. Taylor’s past is revealed slowly and interestingly with her friend involved in ways you don’t see coming. Ultimately, I loved this book and am glad I tried the third time around.

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The Cuckoo’s Calling

I really do love JK Rowling. My proof is that I made it through The Casual Vacancy, even though it was a really tough read. So, I was nervous to start this book because I just wanted to really be impressed with her all over again, rather than disappointed. And, thankfully, I was impressed.

The first in a trilogy, The Cuckoo’s Calling introduced us to Cormoran Strike, a private investigator who has hit a rough patch, to put it mildly. He was recently dumped, has very little business, and has nowhere to live. In walks his temp, Robin, and thankfully, a case. Cormoran knew the family from back when he was a child, and one of them came to him with a request- figure out who killed his sister, even though it was ruled a suicide. The sister, Lula Landry, plunged to her death. Lula, one should note, is a supermodel.

Cormoran has his skeletons, which are revealed slowly and with perfect timing. He and Robin fall into an easy understanding, once he admits that he truly does need her help in uncovering the truth behind Lula’s death. The plot was engaging to the point that I hated to put the book down each time because I felt like I was one step away from finding out what happened. This book reminded me a bit of a previous book I read, Night Film , which also starts with a mysterious death and a search for truth.

I look forward to reading the rest in the trilogy. Cormoran is a likeable, honest guy, and with his counterpart, Robin, by his side, I have a feeling they will have interesting jobs in their future.

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1984

This is my all time favorite book. I read it years and years ago and knew it was a book to change the mindset of people. There are certain books that are important because they  bring attention to the plight of people. There are certain books that are important because they highlight issues in our society. But very few books can alter the entire perspective of a person. When I read this book originally, I was blown away. Mostly because George Orwell saw our future perfectly. And when I read this book over a decade ago, it scared the crap out of me, but I never really thought I would see these changes take place in my lifetime.

But here we are.

We are in a world where “fake news” and “alternative facts” are readily believed. We are in a world where people no longer believe in modern science. We are in a world where people lead hypocritical lives on a daily basis and are blissfully unaware. We are in a world where we are asked to spy on others, where our Internet history can be used for profit, where the general thought process is looked down upon. We are in 1984. Not to the extreme in the book, but we are headed that direction. Unless we RISE UP and take a stand.

It’s odd to say this is my favorite book, considering it’s the most depressing book I’ve ever read. It’s also the most horrifying, especially today. However, I still love it because it moved me the first time I read it, the second time, and finally this third time. My heart broke every chapter even though I knew exactly where it was all heading.

This is simply the most important book ever written. It is a must read for each and every person.

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December

There are books on my Kindle that I bought at some point and have no idea when or why. I must have read a review or had a book recommended by a friend because I don’t just buy books for no reason. December is this very kind of book. It has been sitting on my Kindle for ages now. When the 2017 book challenge update hit and I needed a book with a month or day of the week in the title, I scrolled through all my unread titles and found this one. And I’m really glad I did.

I read this book in one day. It isn’t terribly long or difficult, and I got completely sucked in by the story. Isabelle hasn’t spoken in 9 months. She is eleven and her parents have no idea why she stopped or what it will take to get her speaking again. And let me just give a warning that there is nothing traumatic in Isabelle’s life to spur this silence, if this is something that is triggery for some. Although the story is third person, we still get Isabelle’s thoughts about her silence. We also get into her parents’ heads and frustrations with their situation. As the story goes on, the more about their lives are revealed. And what you discover is that there is really nothing unusual about them. They are a wealthy family living in NYC and with a country house, and her parents might be a bit obnoxious, they certainly love her and provide for her. Isabelle and her family could be anyone.

I really enjoyed getting to know Isabelle. Her parents, especially her mother, were a bit too much for me, but Belle herself was really interesting. She still communicates by nodding or shaking her head. It isn’t as if she is removed from the world. But her silence is overwhelming. This story was really fascinating from a psychological standpoint.