Blog Archives

Book 48 has such a promising concept…. so far, it does not feel that the author delivered, shucks. The frame story is definitely not fresh and does not contain enough spookiness to keep anyone up at night (which is what the description of the book promises.)

Book 47 was loads of fun! The snappy, smarter-than-you, but somehow still good-natured narrator delivers an entertaining and slightly suspenseful story with two endearing and intelligent child protagonists. I can see this meta-fiction being “used” by teachers to talk about parts of a story and even narrative tones.

Book 46 started off really promising, the middle part was all right — and the ending was luke warm to say the best. As a whole, it’s not as wonderful as I had hoped: the story is too focused on the main character and what might befall him — although it is a huge “life or death” situation, it seems petty and too single-plot-lined. It definitely does not quite measure up to the vivid settings, fresh world building, and even some really good and beautiful writing. Since it is the first in a series, one might argue that the adventures and situations could become grand and expansive, I wish that it had been the case in THIS volume.

Reading book 46 — it feels fresh and the narrative voice so far is extremely charming. Really liking it!

Finished book 45 — although the text is so short, the lyrical writing is flawless, superb, and evocative. I thoroughly enjoyed this picture book!

Reading and enjoying book 44… and found out that it was originally published in England last year… NOT eligible…. so hard to ditch it halfway.. but I must move on. So this one does not get a real number… *sad*

Another analogy of reading book 43 — it’s very much like appreciating an art house film — you savor it, you want others to appreciate it, and you know that perhaps not everyone will love it but those who do, WILL LOVE IT TO PIECES.

There is very little light at the end of the book — nonetheless, book 43 is probably the most satisfying read this year. I admire the author’s ability to keep the surprises coming and every surprise makes total sense… unexpected and yet thoroughly plausible and convincing. And the tears came with the sad scenes and the lamenting of the lost friend and the validation of the value of the life-long, death-defying strengths of friendship and love. Although I question the book’s “presentation for a child audience” (plenty of instances that tell me it is for an older young adult or adult readership) I cannot question its artistry or my own personal enjoyment of reading a GREAT new novel. Bravo!

Reading book 43 is like walking through a dark, mysterious, and dangerous labyrinth. My breath was held, and sometimes, I had to force myself not to imagine what actually transpired in the implied scenes — keep myself blind from the truth. I’m almost done and this is GREAT great writing and crafting. Hoping for a not horrifying ending, though… let’s get out of the dungeon and into the sunlight… it doesn’t even have to be cloudless and crisp weather… it could even be overcast and drizzling… but, let’s have that light….

Took me a long time to read and finish book 42 — end of school year madness plus some personal distractions made it a much longer process than it really should have. Anyway. I was hoping to really like this book — different from many that we’ve read this year and there are interesting and fresh characters whom I actually really like. But, there are just way too many convenient lucky turns of events to make the story entirely credible and since it deals with such a realistic and tough topic, the happy chances the main character receives make it much less relate-able to the kids who might see themselves in the story and it makes the young readers who read this “from the outside” believe too easily that it’s not that difficult to get out of these rough spots. Not the most outstanding read of the season.

Book 41 made me cry so hard. It’s not surprising because the subject matter is one conducive to tearing up of the reader. I do appreciate the author’s ability to build up momentum, detail the events by piecing together so many different voices and perspectives and still keep a coherent and clear narrative. The comprehensive research, meticulous compilation of facts, the fresh approach, and effective telling of a much documented event make this book stand out to me.

Deeply into book 41. Will post about it tomorrow.

Finished book 40 last night — very mixed feelings. I don’t think it’s outstanding but the plot toward the end definitely thickens and made me want to read the sequel. There’s quite a bit of “Really? Is this really how this character would feel/act/react” throughout the book, though, to make me love it. Some of the resolutions are so Hollywood-movie-easy that brings down the intensity and credibility a whole notch. Too bad — was hoping to be able to champion without reservation for this SciFi thriller.

Book 40 is fun, so far. Interesting premises and high stake actions — but I can’t say the writing is exceptional. Actually, the writing is so plain and at times so low-level (for example, a whole paragraph where every sentence starts with the same pronoun when plenty of them can be combined with present/past particles or time/place stamps to break the monotony) that I almost stopped reading it.

Finished book 39 — did a little bit if survey of the cover design. My students in various grades (middle school) were shown this cover and gave me their guesses of what the book was about: they invariably said that it’s a book of mystery, with “plots” and “schemes,” something exciting and could potentially be cool because the bad guys are caught and the mystery is solved. There might even be some magic. They judged this intelligently based on their many years of looking at book covers and what they represent: from the title, to the font choices, to the colors and graphic design. So, I told them about what the book is REALLY about — and everyone was shocked. And we know that if some young reader picks up and reads this book because the cover has “sold” them the potential story, this reader will be quickly disappointed. I do wish that the book was designed differently — and has hopefully a more straightforward telling than the device the author has employed. There is quite a bit of heart, likable characters, and meaningful interactions and messages. I actually liked most of the book (despite some glaring copy-editing errors and obvious inconsistencies) but it is not a stand-out.

Done with 38. And can’t say that I was incredibly impressed. It’s a serviceable, nicely told tale that touches on some issues that already have been dealt with this year in other, better crafted books, for a similar audience. It’s not the author’s fault that there is some limitation in how not as dexterously he/she handles similes than other writers or the plot and conflict simply don’t compare with some other creations this year — but, it makes this book much less distinguished.

Heard this at this week’s Random House Children’s Fall Preview, from the out-of-the-box mind of Newbery Winner Rebecca Stead, (paraphrasing.. I hope it’s not too off,) “Is it possible to completely eliminate the dark moments in Middle School years? The answer is probably, no. Is it possible to build a true friendship upon lies? The answer is, YES.” Now I’m totally intrigued. Liar and Spy is coming out this August. Looking forward.

Book 38 so far is quite good. I’m surprised at how many books are basically dealing with the same subject and time period — and they are all solidly crafted.

I can’t stomach this book at all — (book 37) — because of the poor, illogical, sloppy writing and editing. Let me ask you, how can an under-educated 12-year-old boy identify every single antique object in the room with its origins (location and time period)? If the author decides to see the events through this character, he/she HAS to write with the limitation of the character’s perspective. *sigh* I can’t believe a really reputable house sent out a book like this to the world and to our young readers :(