Student Book Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

26 May

I assigned the second set of book reviews in my Y.A. Lit class, which means it’s time to feature a new student book review.  My student, Zach, was telling me about books he’s read and enjoyed when we were discussing his trimester project and thinking about potential books to read.  Once he mentioned enjoying The Picture of Dorian Gray, I immediately handed him Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber.  I wasn’t sure if it would be for him, but based on his book review and his book talk, I know he enjoyed it.

Title: Darker Still

Author: Leanna Renee Hieber

Student Reviewer: Zach H.

Summary (From Goodreads):

I was obsessed.

It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen–everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable…utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.

There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.

I’ve crossed over into his world within the painting, and I’ve seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked–bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone streets of Manhattan. Unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.

Student Review:

Everyone has believed in the concept of spirituality at least once in their lives. Well, even if one is not a believer currently, they will become one after reading Darker Still. I was drawn to this book originally because I had heard that it was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s groundbreaking novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Having enjoyed Wilde’s novel not even a month before, I was eager for a new twist on the story. By the time I finished this book, I determined that it wasn’t only a unique twist on Wilde’s story, but surpassed it in terms of an engaging story as well.

Darker Still follows Natalie Stewart, an eighteen-year old girl who has been mute ever since her mother died years earlier. Over time, she feels extremely drawn to a painting of the handsome Lord Denbury, who supposedly committed suicide. However, Natalie comes to find out that Denbury is still alive and trapped in the painting, having fallen backwards into a plot that is so much bigger than simple magickry. At the core of this captivating tale is a very engaging plot which I would love to elaborate upon, but sadly can’t.

Besides the plot, the characters were what really sold the story in Darker Still, especially Natalie, Denbury, and Mrs. Northe. For instance, seeing the whole events of the story from Natalie’s point of view was quite fascinating, mainly due to the fact that, being mute, she sees the world and handles interactions differently from the average Jane. Denbury, on the other hand, provides a tender and loving air that exudes strength even when things seem most dark. Additionally, Mrs. Northe serves as an excellent supporting protagonist as her knowledge of most things supernatural makes her the perfect helper to both Natalie and Denbury despite the increasingly dark situation.

Despite how good the plot and characters are, like all great novels, Darker Still does have its occasional drawbacks. For example, some of the characters, such as Maggie, are so wooden and unimportant that I feel the novel could have gotten along perfectly well without them. I was also disappointed that Natalie’s father wasn’t fleshed out too much considering the fact that her mother is dead. If the novel could have focused just a little bit more on Natalie’s relationship with her father, I would’ve felt just a bit more emotionally attached. Additionally, I didn’t like how the whole novel is basically a diary kept by Natalie recounting the events because it sometimes it showed a feeling of emotional detachment from Natalie. Not always, but just enough.

Despite these significant shortcomings, Darker Still is a very good book. The often disturbingly detailed imagery and prose leaps off of almost every single page. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good, mystery, or even supernatural fiction. Darker Still is a novel for everyone.

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Students Want to Know Sarah Tregay

25 May

Sarah TregayI have **THIS MUCH** love for Sarah Tregay’s debut Love and Leftovers, so I was beyond excited when she volunteered to be interviewed by my students.  And I may be biased since these are my students, but I think they asked some pretty good questions :)

Summary (From Goodreads):

My wish
is to fall
cranium over Converse
in dizzy, daydream-worthy
love.

(If only it were that easy.)

When her parents split, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this “vacation” has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up.

But understanding love, especially when you’ve watched your parents’ affections end, is elusive. What does it feel like, really? Can you even know it until you’ve lost it?

** Sarah Tregay’s Website **
** Like Sarah Tregay on Facebook **
** Love and Leftovers is available in stores! **

Allison:

  • Was writing in verse difficult or do you prefer it?
    Marcie’s character fit well with the verse format, as did her story, so writing LOVE AND LEFTOVERS in verse felt very natural.     Verse has some challenges, but that’s what makes it interesting to write. For instance, when I went from 8.5×11 paper (for the manuscript) to the smaller page size (for the book) I had to edit some lines so they’d fit. On the other hand, verse can be easier than prose in the rewriting/revising stages because you change the order of the poems without much editing. I enjoy writing—and reading—novels in verse.

Delia:

  • Why did you choose to write a long distance love story?
    Before I wrote LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, I had written a handful of manuscripts that didn’t sell. My friends said these stories were “too quiet.” (They were nice enough not to call them boring.) So When I was thinking about LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, I made a list of very bad things that could happen to my main character because I wanted the stakes to be high and the story interesting. Being away from friends was on that list, and Marcie being away from her boyfriend, Linus, added to her loneliness and upped the stakes.

Sarah W:

  • Do you plan on writing more books?  If so, are they going to all be in verse?
    I’m working on another novel or two, but they may not end up in verse. My editor asked for me to try one of them in prose instead. It’s an experiment, so I guess we’ll have to see how it goes.

Morgan:

  • Why are some of the kids called leftovers?  Were you considered a leftover?
    The Leftovers are a group of friends that don’t fit into the usual cliques in their high school, for example, one is an athlete who also gets good grades, another is a girl scout, and three are in a band. My friends at my lunch table in high school didn’t call ourselves “leftovers”, but we were a hodgepodge mix of AP students and students who were scraping by with Cs, field hockey players, photographers, and musicians.

Jordin:

  • How do you manage to say and mean so much with so little written (referring to verse)?
    I think with verse a writer can lean on the reader a little more than in prose. Each reader brings their own feelings and experiences with them when they read a book and an author can tap into these emotions without explaining every minute detail by using word choice, turns of phrase, and even white space. Verse definitely has the “read between the lines” aspect where a reader uses a combination of their own experiences and imagination to fill in the spaces. So in some ways, reading a novel in verse is a collaboration between the author and the reader.

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Book Trailer Thursday (66)–The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe & Fever by Lauren DeStefano

24 May

Finding book trailers was easier today, so I’m posting two!  The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is a new dystopian from Disney-Hyperion and Fever by Lauren DeStefano is the second book in The Chemical Garden trilogy.  I like both trailers and I hope you enjoy them as well :)

Summary of The Way We Fall (From Goodreads): It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you’re dead.

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn’t?

Summary of Fever (From Goodreads): Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago – surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous – and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion…by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price – now that she has more to lose than ever.

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Readership Survey

23 May

I’m taking things in a slightly different direction today, and I hope you can help me!  I’ve been blogging for almost two years now, and in that time my blog has grown quite a bit.  Next week I’ll be part of a group of bloggers who will be posting on a variety of topics related to blogging.  I decided to focus on community and accountability since that’s something that’s important to me.

My readership survey will help me construct my post, but it will also give me some important insight about my audience.  I have a pretty good feeling about who makes up my readership, but I don’t know that for sure, nor do I know which posts you find the most useful and want more of.  The survey I created is brief, but it and your responses will hopefully help me make Y.A. Love a better blog!  I truly appreciate your time and help :)   If you feel there’s something else you’d like to add that isn’t addressed in the survey, please feel free to leave it in the comments or email me.

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Nothing Special Giveaway Winner!

22 May

I’m really surprised that so few people entered to win a copy of Nothing Special, but I’m happy that some did regardless!  I’m sorry for the delay considering this ended Saturday night, but I finally have a winner.  Using Random.org our winner is…

Natalee!

The winner has been contacted by email and has 48 hours to respond.  If there is no response another winner will be announced.  Thanks to those who entered and stopped by to read Geoff’s post! :D

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Review: In Honor by Jessi Kirby

22 May

Title: In Honor

Author: Jessi Kirby

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: May 8th, 2012

Interest: Author / Sophomore Reading Challenge

Source: ARC received from the publisher

Summary (From Goodreads): A devastating loss leads to an unexpected road trip in this novel from the author of Moonglass, whose voice Sarah Dessen says “is fresh and wise, all at once.”

Hours after her brother’s military funeral, Honor opens the last letter Finn ever sent. In her grief, she interprets his note as a final request and spontaneously decides to go to California to fulfill it.

Honor gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen Rusty in ages, but it’s obvious he is as arrogant and stubborn as ever—not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. Despite Honor’s better judgment, the two set off together on a voyage from Texas to California. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn’s memory—but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?

Have you ever started reading a book and knew right away that you were going to love every single page?  That’s how I felt when I started reading In Honor by Jessi Kirby.  I can’t explain what about a book wins me over when I have this experience, but I’m happy about it nonetheless.  I felt similarly when I read Jessi Kirby’s debut Moonglass as well.  Her writing draws me in and doesn’t let go until I’ve finished her book.

I love that In Honor starts with Honor describing taps being played and the 21-gun salute.  If you’ve been to a funeral when taps has been played and the salute is given, then it’s easy to relive it while reading someone’s experience.  It’s an emotional experience which becomes an emotional reading experience.  I don’t have an immediate family member serving, but I have former students serving, I have cousins serving, I’ve had friends serving.  I may not know what it feels like to lose a brother in the war, but I can certainly empathize with Honor and Rusty as they navigate through their grief.  In Honor is an emotional read, but it’s balanced with love, hope, and humor that many readers will appreciate.

The road trip setting gives In Honor a lighter mood despite the circumstances which I really appreciated because it made the emotional scenes even more powerful.  Road trip books are entertaining because characters are forced to interact with one another, given the close quarters, which provides more character development and insight.  Honor pretty much wears her heart on her sleeve, but Rusty is harder to read.  Honor and Rusty don’t get along very well and the tension is palpable, but there’s something just beneath the surface that lets the reader know that there’s more to Rusty than meets the eye.  Besides the fact that I had a character crush on him, I really enjoyed watching his character grow and discovering his secrets as their journey to California progressed.  He and Honor are learning more about each other, but they’re also learning about themselves through this entire ordeal.

I don’t know if this makes sense, but reading In Honor made me wish I could either live in Texas or at least visit Texas.  I love living in Michigan, so maybe I just wish I could have gone to Texas years ago and met a cute guy like Rusty?  I don’t know, but the whole southern atmosphere described was alluring.  I have been to Sedona (a pit stop Honor and Rusty have to make), so I know how beautiful it is and really want to make a return visit.  More than anything, I think this awkward paragraph just goes to show how well Jessi Kirby created the atmosphere and setting of In Honor.  So many elements of this book won me over and made me feel like I was there with Honor and Rusty.

If you take anything from this review, know this: In Honor is a book that will resonate with readers.  The characters are dynamic and true and ones you’ll wish you could meet in real life.  Jessi Kirby wrote a wonderful debut, but her sophomore novel, In Honor, is even better.  Without a doubt, In Honor will be extremely popular in my classroom and I really hope you read it.

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Book Covers: What My Freshmen Think

21 May

A week ago I posted about what my Y.A. Lit students think of book covers.  The day it posted I received tons of feedback and also passed out a book covers survey to my freshmen to get a broader view.  This time I added two parts to the survey: providing their gender and providing examples of book covers they like.  I polled 43 boys and 34 girls for a total of 77 freshmen.  My post also includes images of some of the covers mentioned in the surveys.

1. What about a book draws your attention the most?

  • Cover design–58%
  • Author/reviewer blurb–3%
  • Summary–39%

2. What kind of cover design do you prefer the most?

  • Models on the cover–25%
  • Objects/scenes related to the story–75%

**Note–This was the same in my Y.A. Lit class**

3. What kind of color combination draws you the most?

“There isn’t really a color combination that draws me in more than others.”

“Red and black”

“Bright colors”

“Red mixed with black and white”

“Bright and dark in one”

“Pink, purple, blue–cute colors”

“Green and yellow”

“Orange and blue”

“Neon or 1 or 2 solid colors and an all caps, stencil, huge title.”

“I really don’t care, but if it has fun colors it will catch my attention.”

“It doesn’t matter, I pretty much read what you say is good.”

4. Is font style & placement important to you? Explain.

  • Yes–40%
  • No–60%

“Bold and artistic to draw me in to see what the title is.”

“Not really. It’s more about what it says than the font or placement.”

“I like it when the font is popped out and in your face.”

“Not really, it really depends on what’s between the covers.”

“The author’s name should be at the bottom.”

“Not really because I’m going to read the title no matter what.”

“I Hunt Killers is a good example when font matters.”

5. Would you feel comfortable reading a book w/a gender-specific feel to it? (Guys reading a book w/a “girly” cover.)

  • Yes–65%
  • No–35%

“Not really, unless somebody points it out (multiple times).” –Male

“I don’t care as long as it’s a good book.” –Male

“Yeah, as long as it’s not hardcore manly.” –Female

6. Do you prefer to see the character’s “face” or would you rather imagine the character on your own?

  • See the character’s face–34%
  • Use your imagination–66%

“Seeing the face ruins the book for me.”

“Seeing their face is easier, but imagining them is more fun so either one.”

“I do sometimes. I really like the models on the covers of Wither and Fever.”

7. If possible, please provide some examples of covers that you like and why.

“Divergent–The symbol looks to be on fire, and it is connected to the story.”

“Bad Girls Don’t Die, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, If I Stay, Where She Went, Night World.  All of these books have interesting covers.”

“I like the cover for Stupid Fast because it looks like he’s alone; it makes you wonder.”

“Payback Time because it’s about sports.”

“Epic Fail–It’s cute and fun.  Catching Jordan–It kind of explains the book.”

“The Hunger Games–Looks tough and serious.  Shiver–Draws my attention.”

“Anything by Simone Elkeles. Hers have models and they really interest me.  I like covers that look romantic.”

“Fracture, The Hunger Games, and Living Dead Girl because they leave you with questions.”

“Other Words for Love because it’s cute.”

“Split and Crescendo“

“Catching Jordan–Cute and pops”

“The Pull of Gravity because I like the colors and how you can see the characters, but everything’s sort of muted.”

“I like the cover for I Hunt Killers because it catches my attention.  I also like the cover for Trapped because it helps me visualize the school they were trapped in.”

“Forever by Judy Blume and Boy Meets Boy because Forever is girly and I like the colors in Boy Meets Boy.”

“House of  Night, The Mortal Instruments, Hush, Hush, stuff like that.  I like that the models aren’t too detailed but enough to get an image of the character.”

“I like the cover for Across the Universe because there are people but not faces; it’s mysterious.”

“Boy 21, Paranoid Park, and I Hunt Killers because they just stick out or have the character on it.  They let you picture something while staying mysterious.”

“The House of Night series: This is because they show the main character’s unique tattoos.”

“Divergent–very bold”

“Insurgent because it makes me wonder why there is a tree with a circle around it.”

“The cover for Hold Still is good because even though it shows the girl, it also briefly tells the story just by looking at it.”

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Students’ Spine Poems

20 May

Last month was National Poetry Month so quite a few people I follow on Twitter were posting links to everything poetry.  Donalyn Miller tweeted a picture of a spine poem she created while her students created them as well.  Paul Hankins also posted some pictures of spine poems, but his were linked on Facebook.  I instantly knew this was an activity I wanted to try in my classroom, so I did not too long ago with my Young Adult Lit students.

I took pictures of all of their poems and had them write a short piece explaining their poem so I could post these on my blog.  Some wrote more than others explaining their poems, and some also gave their poems titles.  My room was a disaster with books everywhere, but my students had fun and asked to do it again :)   I can’t complain about that!  I’m featuring a sampling of the poems created.

Poem #1 created by Wesley and Ethan:

Lost voices (souls) that linger because they’ve fallen away from God.  The white darkness symbolizes the purity and corruption of humans but fade without God, thus fading to wickedness.

Poem #2 created by Alexis K. and Jazzmyn titled “Wonderous Love”:

A guy who is waiting for the girl that is right for him.

Poem #3 created by Brittany and Allison:

You discover that you were cheated on, figured out the lies and the reasons why, left and hoped for something better.

Poem #4 created by Shannon and Torey:

He was in love, but too in love to the point that he was trapped.  It felt like he was trapped forever and there was nothing he could do.  None of this might have happened if he wouldn’t have written his feelings down in the notebook. Perfect (sarcasm).

Poem #5 created by Jessica, Sam, and Morgan:

A girl falling for anything, becoming lovesick, and tricked into leaving with him.  She is sold into prostitution and learning to survive.

Poem #6 created by Ashley and Chris titled “The Cycle of Death”:

We ordered the books in an order that represented the cycle of death.  It starts “Fallen” and “Beautiful Darkness” which symbolize dying and ends with “City of Ashes” which symbolizes the end.  The middle books symbolize what happens after death and how things work out.

Poem #7 created by Merissa:

A romantic comedy about a couple falling in love, the hesitance of trusting someone, and trying to make it work for the long term.

Poem #8 created by Zach:

It’s about a guy in a race who is fast, but he only gets fourth so he failed.

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Flash Reviews (13)–Audiobooks Edition

18 May

As always, thank you for the Flash Reviews idea, GreenBeanTeenQueen!

Since January my reading as been in a general slump because I’ve been overwhelmed with work, my Masters, and health stuff.  In April I decided to give audiobooks a try and can’t believe I didn’t start listening to them sooner!  I’ve created an Audible account and now listen to audiobooks while I’m getting ready for work, driving to and from work, sometimes during my lunch at work, while I’m cooking, etc.  It makes me feel SO PRODUCTIVE to be “reading” while I’m doing all of these things because those are all of the things that distract me from reading.  I’ve even wanted to start walking more so I can listen to my audiobook of the moment since I have the Audible app on my phone.  Anyway, since I’ve listened to a few already I decided to try some flash reviews since I’ve never tried writing a full review of an audiobook before.

Title: Drums, Girls, & Dangerous Pie

Author: Jordan Sonnenblick

Narrator: Joel Johnstone

Summary (From Goodreads): Thirteen-year-old Steven has a totally normal life: he plays drums in the All-Star Jazz band, has a crush on the hottest girl in the school, and is constantly annoyed by his five-year-old brother, Jeffrey.  But when Jeffrey is diagnosed with leukemia, Steven’s world is turned upside down. He is forced to deal with his brother’s illness and his parents’ attempts to keep the family in one piece.

Salted with humor and peppered with devastating realities, Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is a heartwarming journey through a year in the life of a family in crisis.

Flash Review: I listened to this during my spring break in April because my whole reading plan went down the drain when my grandpa decided to go off the vent he’d been on for a month.  I posted about this during that week after he died, but the reason I decided to listen to an audiobook during this time was that I still wanted to accomplish something even though I was spending four hours in the car driving back and fourth across the state to see him and be with family and go to the funeral.  It’s not exactly the happiest memory attached to this book, but regardless of all that Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie is a fantastic book to listen to in audio.  Again, it probably wasn’t the best choice to start with because it’s sad considering Steven’s little brother Jeffrey gets cancer, so I spent a lot of those four hours driving and crying and being all weepy (not so great to do while driving), but I also laughed and was able to take my mind off what was going on.  Joel Johnstone is a really talented narrator.  He does a great job switching voices, adding emotion to what he’s reading, etc.  He’s just about everything you could look for in an audiobook narrator.

The story itself is wonderful.  Steven is going through a tough time trying to understand the severity of his brother’s condition, and it’s not helping that his mom is almost always gone with Jeffrey and his dad isn’t talking to him about much of anything.  Steven’s grades start to suffer, and he begins to feel angry and depressed and confused.  I was able to relate to Steven because I often felt the same way when my dad was in the hospital with Leukemia, but I was in college at the time and understood how serious it was (thankfully my dad’s now cancer free!).  Jordan Sonnenblick has a firm grip on how teens think and act which shows in his writing.  I not only recommend listening to the audio, but adding the book to your library or class library as well if that applies to you.

5/5 stars for this audiobook!

Title: Beautiful Chaos

Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Narrator: Kevin T. Collins

Summary (From Goodreads): Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena’s Claiming. Even Lena’s family of powerful Supernaturals is affected – and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What – or who – will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He’s being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn’t by Lena – and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself – forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn’t know why, and most days he’s too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn’t just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there’s no going back. And this time there won’t be a happy ending.

Flash Review: This series never lets me down and Beautiful Chaos is no different.  In the fall I bought my copy as soon as it released, but while I was reading it I got distracted and set it down.  The problem though is that I never picked it back up.  Once I started listening to audiobooks I remembered that I wanted to finish reading Beautiful Chaos and sampled the audio.  I liked it right away, but I had no idea what I was in for just by listening to the sample!  Basically, after listening to this in audio I will only listen to the audio when book four releases.  It is awesome!  First of all, Kevin T. Collins is the perfect narrator for Ethan.  He uses his southern drawl and switches between all of the characters flawlessly.  The only voice that didn’t work for me was when he was reading Liv’s parts.  His British girl voice just didn’t cut it, but it did make me giggle.  Other than that he’s really impressive.  Plus, the audio plays background music during Ethan and Lena’s flashbacks, and we get to hear the Sixteen Moons (which has since changed for this book to Eighteen Moons) song.  I can’t sing the praises enough for Beautiful Chaos in audio.

The Beautiful Creatures series continues to be fantastic.  I love Link now as Linkubus and getting to know other characters more like Ridley and Amma.  So many secrets are uncovered about Lena’s family that my head was spinning.  Plus the ending completely blew my mind.  I had to rewind the audio and listen again because I couldn’t believe what happened.

4/5 stars for this audiobook

Title: Marcelo in the Real World

Author: Francisco X. Stork

Narrator: Lincoln Hoppe

Summary (From Goodreads): Marcelo Sandoval hears music that nobody else can hear–part of an autism-like condition that no doctor has been able to identify. But his father has never fully believed in the music or Marcelo’s differences, and he challenges Marcelo to work in the mailroom of his law firm for the summer. . . to join “the real world.”

There Marcelo meets Jasmine, his beautiful and surprising coworker, and Wendell, the son of another partner in the firm. He learns about competition and jealousy, anger and desire. But it’s a picture he finds in a file–a picture of a girl with half a face–that truly connects him with the real world: its suffering, its injustice, and what he can do to fight.

Reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the intensity and purity of its voice, this extraordinary audiobook is a love story, a legal drama, and a celebration of the music each of us hears inside.

Flash Review: I’m a little torn over this audiobook.  The story itself is beautiful, but the narrator isn’t all that impressive.  His voice is kind of monotonous and he doesn’t do a very good job changing his voice for different characters.  I also had a difficult time distinguishing when Marcelo is thinking something and saying something because there isn’t enough inflection in Lincoln Hoppe’s voice in some of those parts.  Despite those flaws, I was still able to continue listening to the audio because the story is so strong.

I listened to Marcelo in the Real World because we’re using it this year with our To Kill a Mockingbird YA connection unit.  I’m extremely happy we decided on this book because it will tie in nicely.  Just like many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird are misunderstood and judged, Marcelo and other characters are judged and misunderstood also.  Marcelo is very endearing and seeing him lose his innocence about the world was heartbreaking at times.  The characterization is strong in Marcelo in the Real World as well as the writing; it’s an excellent example of literary contemporary fiction.

4/5 stars for this audiobook

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Book Trailer Thursday (65)–Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

17 May

Has anyone read Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber?  I haven’t read any reviews for it, but I found the trailer while searching for today’s post feature and I think it sounds fun.  I like that it’s written from a guy’s point of view as well.  I’d love to know your thoughts if you’ve read it or heard anything about it!

Summary (From Goodreads): Perry Stormaire is a normal high school senior– he is busy applying to college and rehearsing with his band –until he agrees to go to the prom with the Lithuanian exchange student who is staying with his family. It turns out that Gobi Zaksauskas is not the mousy teenager that she seems but rather an attractive, confident trained assassin. Instead of going to the prom, Perry finds himself on a wild ride through the streets of New York City as Gobi commandeers the Jaguar his father lent him for the prom in order to take out her targets. Perry learns a lot about himself – and ends up with some amazing material for his college application essays.

 

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