Book Review: Lynn Visible by Julia DeVillers

DeVillers, Julia. Lynn Visible. New York: Penguin Young Readers Group, 2010.

There we were. Taylor smiling, in the outfit I’d put together, looking very happy.
And me, also looking very happy. In my navy-and-white plaid shirt. And my hot pink tutu skirt that flared out superwide. Belted with a wide black leather belt. I also wore my navy-and-white knitted knee socks. On my head was a vintage black fedora wwith a large hot pink bow. And on my feet, sneakers that I’d hacked up and filled in the holes with tulle I’d trimmed off my skirt. And a necklace I’d made from old pink-and-red Polly Pocket shoes.
Yes, I know what you’re thinking. That’s what she’s wearing the first day of school?
You won’t be the only person thinking that today.

When it comes to fashion, Lynn is either a genius who is decades ahead of her time, or she's crazy. If you asked the popular girls in school, they'd tell you the latter.

But that doesn't stop Lynn from dreaming about being the new It girl in the new GlITter Girl competition....the prize being featured in the hottest fashion magazine in the world. Will she face the same rejection she's dealt with her whole life? Or will she finally be validated?

Cute, very cute. Great for the tween girls that are really into fashion. Predictable? A little. But still, you can’t help but cheer for the main character and all the shenanigans she gets herself into.

Perfect for girls that are still a little young for Meg Cabot, but too old for Fancy Nancy.

Book #17

Buy this book now!

Book Review: The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker

I shook my head. "Sorry, I'm not interested in kissing a frog."

"I've been told taht kissing a frog is good for the complexion," he said, sidling toward me.

"I doubt it. anyway, my complexion is fine."

"What about the old saying, kissing a frog would bring you luck?"

"I've never heard that saying. It can't be too old. I think you just made it up. All kissing a frog would bring me is slimy lips." I shuddered and backed away. "The answer is no, so quit asking!"

Baker, E.D. The Frog Princess. New York: Bloomsbury, 2002.

Princess Esmeralda isn't pretty and dainty like a princess should be...she has a laugh that shakes the birds from the trees and a walk that's more like an elephant than a kitten. But she's smart. Smart enough to know that kissing a frog, even a talking frog, won't turn him into a handsome prince.

Right?

They say that this was the book that inspired "The Princess and the Frog" by Disney. Good movie. Great book. Quite frankly, I don't see much similarity between the two. Yes, both were based on a fairy tale, but they took radically different paths.

This book was adorable. I loved it. The dialogue, the characters, the plot...such a fun story. I had trouble putting it down, even though I already knew the ending. Great chemistry between the two characters, which doesn't always happen. The voice is lively, energetic, and just plain fun.

It's perfect for tweens, because it's squeaky clean, but still exciting and lots of fun. If they loved Gail Carson Levine, this is a great, slightly older series to move on to. Also great for the kids that loved The Sisters Grimm, but aren't quite old enough to tackle Shannon Hale (though as soon as they are old enough, Shannon Hale is a MUST!)

If you want a new twisted fairy tale, this is a series you've got to try!

Buy this book now!

Book Review: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

In honor of tween week, I thought I'd post about my FAVORITE tween series by Ally Carter.

Carter, Ally. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. New York: Hyperion, 2006.

I was just starting to get into the rhythm of our little game, when Mr. Solomon said, "Close your eyes," in Arabic.

We did as we were told.

"What color are my shoes?" This time he spoke in English and, amazingly, thirteen Gallagher Girls sat there quietly without an answer.

"Am I right-handed or left-handed?" he asked, but didn't pause for a response. "Since I walked into this room I have left fingerprints in five different places. Name them!" he demanded, but was met with empty silence.

"Open your eyes," he said, and when idid, I saw him sitting on the corner of his desk, one foot on the floor and the other hanging loosely off the side. "Yep," he said. "You girls are pretty smart. But you're also kind of stupid."

Cammie Morgan goes to a school for spies...though to the rest of the world, it looks like a school for girl geniuses. She speaks fourteen languages fluently, she could kill a man in seven different ways, and she could probably hack her way into any CIA computer.

What don't they teach at Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women? How to talk to boys.

So when Cammie meets a boy, she knows how to analyze his trash, follow him while staying "invisible," and write detailed reports about his behavior and what it means...but isn't quite sure how to talk to him.

This has to be one of the most adorable series out there right now. I freaked out when it took a whole day after the fourth book came out (which was Tuesday, by the way) to get it on ebook. Seriously, I started researching who to call at the publishing company to right this kind of injustice.

The characters definte the word "loveable," and the plot line is phenomenal. My favorite parts are when Cammie writes up detailed "summaries of surveillance" about Josh. I was honestly laughing out loud. And the best part? It's cute and sweet and absolutely, 100% squeaky clean. That, more than anything, is what makes me classify this as a perfect "tween" book. Will older teens love it? Of course. It's the perfect blend of "Alias" and "Princess Diaries." But it's also appropriate and accessible to younger girls that are looking to read up.

If you haven't read this series yet, I strongly recommend it. Straight fun from beginning to end. Also, don't miss Ally Carter's other equally fun series Heist Society.

Buy this book now!

Book Review: Airhead by Meg Cabot

Cabot, Meg. Airhead. New York: Scholastic, 2008.

"It's time to stop messing around. Who did this to you, Nikki? And be honest. Was it Al Qaeda?"

"Brandon!" Lulu shrieked from the kitchen.

"Well." Brandon shook his head. "If they want to strike a blow against freedom, why not go after the Face of Stark, one of America's most beloved models?"

"Al Qaeda doesn't know how to give people AMNESIA," Lulu declared, from behind the black granite-topped island. "Only the Scientologists have the technology to do that."

Brandon looked at me gravely. "Was it the Scientologists, Nikki?" he asked.

Em Watts is smart, funny, and...invisible. The only person who seems to even care that she exists is her best (and very cute) friend, Christopher. And even then, it's like she's nothing more than a fellow video gamer.

But then Em Watts is killed in a freak accident. When she wakes up again, she's no longer in her own body, but in that of supermodel Nikki Howard, surrounded by celebrities, rivals, round-the-clock paprazzi, and a boss who isn't above murdering his employees to get what he wants.

Suddenly, being invisible is the best lifestyle she could possibly imagine.

Took a little while to get going, but once it did, WOW! I loved the premise. I couldn’t put it down. It ends on a cliffhanger, so we have to wait for the next installment to get any satisfaction. Girls will love the fashion and the romance and the concept that someday they could wake up and be the most beautiful girl in the world.

One of my favorite aspects about it is the way she deals with popularity and beauty. Beauty, surprisingly, isn't looked down on. It's also not glamorized as the end-all be-all. It's an added bonus to a strong, bright protagonist. How much harder would it be to discover one's inner self-worth when the world judges you exclusively on your appearance? Once again, Meg Cabot has taken chick lit to a new level, and proved that you can have comedic romance with substance.

Buy this book now!

Book Review: Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls #1 Moving Day by Meg Cabot

Cabot, Meg. Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls #1: Moving Day. New York: Scholastic 2008.

Science has a lot of rules (like the one about gravity). So does math (like that five minus three will always be two. That is a rule).
That’s why I like science and math. You know where you stand with them, rulewise.
What I’m not so crazy about is everything else. Because there are no rules for everything else.
There are no rules, for instance, for friendship. I mean besides the about Treat your friends the way you’d want them to treat you, which I’ve already broken about a million times. I like earlier today, when my best friend, Mary Kay Shiner, and I were making the strawberry frosting for her birthday cupcakes...

Allie Finkle likes rules. And since friendship doesn’t have rules, she decides to start writing a collection of rules for being friends. Rule #1: Never stick a spatula down your best friend’s throat.
Then Allie’s parents announce that they’re moving. New school, new friends, new house. Well, actually, it’s a disgusting old house that her parents want to fix up.
Shouldn’t there be a rule against that?

My favorite, Meg Cabot, writing a middle grade series. Instant love. Now, the reading level on the back says that this is on about a fifth grade reading level, but the main character is only in fourth grade. That means it's a great choice for the younger girls that are on a higher reading level.

This novel is fun and funny. Girls will love it. It's perfect for the crowd that loved the Junie B. Jones and Ramona books. Allie is witty and fun to watch. I adore her. Now, she is a little sassy and a little bratty, but not more so than Junie B.

The only real problem I had with the book was one of the rules that kept returning as a running gag:

Always wear a helmet when you’re skateboarding because if a car hits you, your brain will splat open, and kids like me will spend their time waiting for the cars to go by so they can cross the street looking for bits of your brain the ambulance might have left behind in the bushes.

I thought this might be a little graphic for the younger crowd. She jokes about it, and tries to make it funny, but I didn't think it was.

But aside from that, I loved it. I really did. This is one of my top recommends for this age group.

Buy this book now!

Book Review: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson, Brandon. Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians. New York: Scholastic, 2008.

My name is not Alfonso, Alan, or Alfred. Nor is it Alejandro, Alton, Aldris, or Alonzo.

My name is Alcatraz. Alcatraz Smedry. Now some of you Free Kingdomers might be impressed by my name. That's wonderful for you, but I grew up in the Hushlands--in the United States itself. I didn't know about Occulators or the like, though I did know about prisons.

And that was why I figured that my parents must have had a twisted sense of humor. Why else would they name thier child after the most infamous prison in U.S. history?

On my thirteenth birthday, I received a second confirmation that my parents were indeed cruel people. That was the day when I unexpectedly received in the mail the only inheritance they left me.

It was a bag of sand.

Alcatraz Smedry is not a nice person. In fact, he's a cruel person, with no particular talents, unless you count his ability to break things. But when a crazy old man claiming to be his long lost grandfather shows up, everything Alcatraz knows about the world changes.

This book is a blast and a half. It is laugh out loud funny the whole way through. It's witty and clever and fun, and I couldn't put it down. And I know it sounds like it's pure silliness, but there are solid sci-fi themes running through it. Sanderson is a brilliant writer, and it shows. Even though he's just having fun, he knows how to build a world and develop a story.

There are a few times when the storyline goes a little over-the-top, where things seem to go a little too far. I mean, really, who would set a fire and then walk into the other room to look at something else? It barely makes sense. But because it fits with the general feel of the novel, we're willing to let it slide.

This novel is absolute perfect for reluctant readers. It's action-packed and funny, which will keep everyone's attention. If you are struggling to get your child to read, get them this book!

Buy this book now!

Book Review: Heist Society by Ally Carter

Carter, Alley. Heist Society. New York: Disney Hyperion, 2010.

Another sip. Another smile. But this time he didn't meet her eyes. "You wanted to see if the rumors were true," he said, and Kat felt her face burn in the cold wind. "So, who told?" her father asked. "Uncle Eddie? Hale?" He shook his head and spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna kill that kid."

"It wasn't his fault."

"Like Barcelona wasn't his fault?"

"Yeah, well..." Kat heard herself repeating Hale's words: "We all agreed that that monkey seemed perfectly well trained at the time."

Kat is trying to get out of the family business. Unfortunately, the memebers of her family aren't jewellers or art collectors or bankers--at least, not exactly. Kat is from a family of thieves. And now someone has accused her father of stealing a valuable painting, which he didn't steal. Unless Kat can figure out who actually stole the painting and get it back, she could lose everyone she cares about.

This was so much fun! Like everything Ally Carter writes, her protagonist is fun, smart and witty. The plot is essentially like Ocean's Eleven with teenagers, except that George Clooney has been replaced with a loveable girl, and Brad Pitt is put to shame with an incredible male lead (Hale, who is even hotter than Brad).

There are also a lot of interesting quirks in the characters. They aren't just cookie cutters. Hale, for instance, is a billionaire, someone who "could buy a Monet and yet couldn't resist stealing a Vermeer." And I'd tell you what is so surprising about Nick, the second love interest, but it'd give something away, and I don't want to ruin the surprise. You'll just have to read it.

Overall, this novel has strong themes of family and trust. But Ms. Carter pulls it off in a way that doesn't come off as preachy or didactic. She doesn't tell you the message she wants to get across, she makes you feel it. And somehow, she makes you laugh about it at the same time.

Tons of fun, and as always, squeaky clean (one of the only ones in all of teen to be so). If you have a teenage girl, she should be reading this book.

Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Mysterious Benedict Society. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2007.
“That’s true,” he said. “Sticky, if you didn’t use the arrows, how did you get through?”
Sticky shuffled his feet and said, “I just kept trying one door after the other, until finally I found the staircase. It was sheer luck.”
“And you found it more quickly the second time? That’s the really lucky part, I guess.”
“Oh, no, that part was easy,” Sticky said. “I just remembered how I got through the first time: First I took a right, then a left, then straight ahead, then right, then right again, then left, then left again, then right, then straight ahead, and so on, until I came to the staircase. I didn’t have to waste time scratching my head over those panels, or worrying they were going to turn the lights off, or any of that stuff. I just hurried through exactly as I did before.”
“Exactly as you--,” Kate began, then just shook her head. “That’s incredible. “
Reynie laughed. “You did it the hard way, Sticky!”
“What’s the easy way?”
“Follow the wriggly arrows.”
“Oh,” said Sticky thoughtfully. “That would have been useful to know.”

When a special ad appears in the paper looking for gifted children, thousands show up for the test. But only four are chosen. Four orphans, who are all geniuses in their own right. Reynie can solve any puzzle, decipher any clue, and figure out the answer to any dilemma. Kate, with her trusty bucket (literally) of tricks, can get into, out of, or around any obstacle in her path. Sticky has the ability to memorize anything the first time he sees it. And Constance? Well, she can be…stubborn.

These four children create an incredible team. And their first mission is to go undercover at an Institute for gifted children to stop a man who is trying to take over the world by sending messages over TV waves.

Brilliant. Just brilliant. One of my absolute favorite series for kids. There are tons of brain teasers and puzzles through the book, so you get to test yourself along with the characters to see how smart you are. I wasn’t very smart, but you might be! The writing is excellent. And they actually have a good reason for sending kids into danger, which I LOVED. Authors like to feed us crap about how they need kids because they’re “pure” or something like that. No, these kids have to go because the Institute only accepts children. Makes sense.

The characters and bright and fun and oh-so-loveable. The story is fast paced and keeps you interested, even if it is rather long for a young reader. This is the perfect novel for the kids that devour every book you give them in a matter of hours. At 485 pages, it’ll keep them entertained as well as keeping them busy for a few days. Also great for adults who want to read with their kids, because many of the brain teasers are at an adult level. So much fun!

Book Review: How to Train Your Dragon by Cowell Cressida

Cowell, Cressida. How to Train Your Dragon. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2003.

"Hiccup will be leading you, although he is, admittedly, completely useless, because Hiccup is the son of the CHIEF, and that's the way things go with us Vikings. Where do you think you are, the REPUBLIC OF ROME? Anyway, that is the least of your problems today. You are here to prove yourself as a Viking Hero. And it is an ancient tradition of the Hooligan Tribe that you should--" Gobber paused dramatically--

"FIRST CATCH YOUR DRAGON!"

Ohhhhhhh suffering scallops, thought Hiccup.

Hiccup Haddock the III is the son of the Viking tribe's chief, Stoick the Vast, but he is not your typical Viking hero. To the dismay of his father, instructor, and the tribe in general, Hiccup dislikes being mean or cruel to anyone, including the pet dragons that each boy is supposed to be training. He decides to take a different approach to training, which includes speaking Dragonese, a language known only to dragons. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well as he had hoped, since his dragon, Toothless, is lazy and rude. But when it comes to life or death, can Toothless be trusted?

This was a cute little book. Predictable, sure, but so much fun. I kept hoping that “heroic” type things would happen to poor Hiccup, but no, they didn’t really. He made everything happen. And little Toothless…what a great character. I’m glad it’s hard to train a dragon without yelling at it, and it’s not actually easier. I was worried that’s where the whole thing was going. My little brother is a reluctant reader, but he eats up these books. How can he not, with character names such as "Dogsbreath the Duhbrain?"

Book Review: My Angelica by Carol Lynch Williams

Williams, Carol Lynch. My Angelica. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999.

Angelica performed CPR on her Indian lover. His lips were blue. Both of his eyes were closed. At least, Angelica thought they were. One eye was covered by a bearskin eye patch. The other lay limply in its socket.
Angelica's perfectly curled hair trembled with fear. Her white-gloved hands looked even whiter on her lover's bare chest. "Get up, 247 Bears. Get up!" Angelica yodeled like an American Indian banshee.
Suddenly the piece of deer meat spewed forth from his mouth. The dark-haired man breathed deeply, then stood on his own two feet.
Angelica, he signed to her. You have saved me. Will you be my squaw?

15-year-old Sage's mother is a famous romance writer, and Sage knows that writing is her destiny too. She also knows that her character, Angelica, will be her claim to fame, the smart, strong, sexy character that will rocket her to the top. But George, Sage's best friend, knows something that Sage doesn't...her writing is atrocious. He puts up with it patiently for years, but when Sage announces she plans to enter her novel in a writing contest at the school, George knows he must find a way to stop her before she is humiliated.

Quite literally could not put it down. Usually I don’t like clueless girls, but Sage is so loveable. I think maybe it helped that we saw her through George’s eyes, and he showed us the good side of her. I loved George! What a sweetheart. And Angelica! Oh, Angelica! I would feel bad about laughing at her so much, but I know that the first female president would simply wipe away a sensitive tear with a gloved hand without disturbing any make-up and run to her eye-patched lover and press passionately against his perfect chest—without, of course, disturbing a single strand of her perfect curls—and all would be well. So I feel no guilt at laughing at Angelica all I want. Williams's humor will keep you laughing the whole way through. A phenomenal book for teenagers.

Book Review: Holes by Louis Sachar

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1998.

Stanley was not a bad kid. He was innocent of the crime for which he was convicted. He'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It was all because of his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!

He smiled. It was a family joke. Whenever anything went wrong, they always blamed Stanley's no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!

Supposedly, he had a great-great-grandfather who had stolen a pig from one-legged Gypsy, and she put a curse on him and all his descendants. Stanley and his parents didn't believe in curses, of course, but whenever anything went wrong, it felt good to be able to blame someone.

Things went wrong a lot. They always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Everything about this story is amazing. The way he handles backstory, bringing everything together at the last minute…It's difficult enough to do that in a short story, and Louis Sachar was one of the few that is able to pull it off in a novel. I love that feeling when all the puzzle pieces fit together and makes a happy ending. And on top of all of that, it’s witty and funny and just plain fun to read. This novel won nearly ever major award for children's books in 1999.

I've heard some people say that although this book is funny, it didn't deserve to win the Newbery, particularly in light of the book that won the Newbery Honor that year (A Long Way From Chicago by Richard Peck). I disagree. I believe that more books like this should win the Newbery. It's gotten to the point that if a book has a Newbery medal on it, you can almost guarantee someone will die. I think books that are considered "distinguished" should be so because they appeal to teens, rather than just being "good for them." It doesn't matter how many "good for them" novels you shove down their throats if they hate every single one of them. Instead, we need to seek out well-written novels that teens will actually read.