Red Glass November 24, 2007

Resau, Laura (2007). Red Glass. NY : Delacorte Press. 275 pages.

Sixteen year old Sophie is afraid of pretty much everything – born prematurely, she suffers from allergies, and from a sense that her body will never be quite strong enough. So it is a surprise to everyone, herself included, when she agrees to travel to Mexico with her frivolous and immature aunt, her aunt’s boyfriend, and his intimidating (read: attractive and cool) son. It’s probably the least safe thing Sophie could even think of doing – but what’s at stake is her principito, the young Mexican boy that her family adopted when his parents died trying to enter the country.

The summary on the back of this book really confused me (too much information, too little space for processing it) – I couldn’t get a sense of what the book was actually about at all, or what it was going to be like to read it, so it sat on my shelf for a while before I picked it up again. So the only reason I can’t say that this book exceeded my expectations was that I had none, starting out.

The book is charmingly written in a sort of dream-inducing prose that is nevertheless easy to read and crisply precise. If that sounds like a completely contradictory description, I apologize. Simple put, the book is well written. More importantly, for me, was the fact that the characters were all fabulously flawed and vulnerable and real and interesting. Sophie has that exact issue that I’ve seen in my mother, and one of my close friends – the guilt of being a sickly child in a family that can ill afford the time, or money for her care. And as a part of Sophie’s character, this guilt is really well depicted here, as she battles to face and overcome her various weaknesses, psychological and physical. The author also does a really wonderful job painting Sophie’s simultaneous fascination and fear of Angel, the teenage boy who is part of her traveling party. If you ever have been, or are, a girl who doesn’t quite know what to do with the knowledge of a boy’s unique and special power to wound heart, body, or mind, you’ll sympathize… and cheer, because Sophie figures out how to move past it, and risk everything. Well, I cheered – not out loud, mind you, I was in public at the time. And Angel himself is an awesome and likable hero – he’s intelligent and handsome, and hides his heart in a box and his soul behind his sunglasses.

Booktalk Hook: Have you ever been forced to go to a place that you fear more than anything?

If you liked this book: You might like other novels with a strong Latin American flavor, and excellent prose, like those by Isabel Allende.

Tithe November 24, 2007

Black, Holly (2002). Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. NY : Simon and Schuster. 331 pages.

Kaye redefines weird – she doesn’t go to school, she doesn’t quite look like everyone else, and – oh yeah – she gets visits from faeries that no one else can see. Or at least she did, before she moved to Philly with her mom. But when an unexpected attack sends both Kaye and her mother back to the Jersey shore, she gets pulled into the world of faerie – a world, it turns out, that she belongs to more than she’d ever guessed.

Usually I can steamroll right through books, but I had to put this one down more than a few times, for various reasons – none of them were bad reasons – they were just… well, here they are:

1. omg, yaoi fanboy, what?!

Corny. One of the more important side characters, Corny (short for Cornelius), is ethically challenged, a genius, and gay. He’s also an avid reader of shonen ai manga (translation: homoerotic japanese comic books, generally written by and for women). Well, he calls it shonen ai, but as Kaye helpfully describes some of the scenes in said manga, I’m actually guessing it’s yaoi, which is basically the same thing, plus more porn.

Let me be clear: I did not need to put the book down because I have a problem with people who are queer, intelligent, or fans of pornography.  Rather, I had a problem with the way the book used these aspects of his character to portray him as a person who has no regard for the lives of other people, or would be receptive to getting raped and brutalized.  It’s a valid and consistent character portrait, but it’s also an extremely offensive way to portray a specific group of people, in that it implies that one’s taste in porn could predispose a person to want to be raped.  Or that being smart means you want to gun down your classmates.

I’m relatively sure that the author didn’t intend her character to be offensive, but in my case, I was a little taken aback.

2. tortured hero? srsly, pls…

Roiben. Roiben is a faerie knight of the Seely Court (the relatively good and nice group of faeries), who is traded to the Unseely Court by his queen. In the Unseely Court, he is forced to carry out his new queen’s horrible orders, and is thus traumatized into becoming a brooding, dark anti-hero. And Kaye falls for him like I fall for chocolate donuts. I’m not saying I don’t sympathize – back in the day, I myself liked a platinum blond tortured hero or two. And Roibin is far from the worst incarnation of this little archetype, but… really…

3. Jersey shore, land of hidden magic?! XD

This time, I put the book down because I had to pause and savor my smug glee that yes, someone else sees the dirty, glittery, and wildly natural Jersey shore the same way I do. And, for once, the faeries (angels, demons, winged monkeys, etc…) don’t live in Central Park, NY, but a place I actually know and care about – and let me tell you, it is the perfect setting for this book. It sets the mood, reflects Kaye’s character, and foreshadows the nature of the faerie courts. Just – wow, I had so much love for the setting.

Alright. Now, putting all that aside, I really did enjoy this book. This is one of the better things to come from the faery/fairy stories that are becoming popular recently, and there was a lot of sensitivity and depth in all the characters. And after all, I may have put the book down more than once, but I always, always picked it up again.

Booktalk Hook: Did you ever think that you just couldn’t possibly be related to these people who are pretending to be your parents?

If you like this book: You’ll probably want to read the sequels, Valiant and Ironside. Or you might want to try testing out the shallow end of the pool of manga that this book is referencing, both in the text, and thematically – titles like Seimaden, Angel Sanctuary, or Alichino.

Bound October 27, 2007

Napoli, Donna Jo (2004). Bound. NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 186 pages.

Xing-Xing is the young heroine of this retelling of the old Chinese folktale that Cinderella, more familiar to Wester readers, was based on. In this version of the story she is treated as a servant by her stepmother and half-sister, but continues to live her life by demonstrating the three virtues of painting, poetry, and calligraphy.

This novel is a beautiful and intriguing retelling of an old, old story, fleshed out with historical and atmospheric details of ancient China. The plot meanders its way to a rather sudden conclusion, but the book is really more concerned with the characters – and with social issues that have possibly more current than historical importance.

The title, Bound, is taken from the practice of foot binding, wherein Chinese women would bind their feet, inhibiting their growth (and use) in order to make them smaller and more attractive. Not dissimilar to our current practice of wearing high heels. While Xing-Xing has naturally small feet, her half-sister needs to have hers bound in order to attract a husband, and the painful and sometimes overly gory process is described in full. This foot binding is reflective of the metaphorical bondage of Chinese women in the time period, and Xing-Xing has to face existing within a social system that she cannot tolerate, which makes for an interesting internal conflict. Unfortunately, the resolution of the conflict happens about two pages from the end, and the reader really needs a basic understanding of Chinese history to fully appreciate it (this is hinted at in the author’s afterword, but is not actually explained).

Also, in what I’m assuming is an homage to the Grimm’s version of Cinderella (mutilation in the name of beauty!), the story treads a little heavily past the boundaries of cultural sensitivity in its reverse-exoticism regarding the foot binding. A large portion of the book is devoted to making this practice seem alien and barbaric, which can be (or rather, I’ve been informed, is) offensive to people of Asian, particularly Chinese, extraction. The overbearing obsession with foot binding also somewhat weakens the plot, as after all, the heroine does not experience it directly.

Booktalk Hook: Do you like the darker, grittier, Grimm’s version of fairy tales? Bound is a no-holds barred retelling of a Chinese folktale that is bound (haha!) to please.

If you liked this book: Why not play Kingdom Heart’s II, and help Mulan, another plucky Chinese girl-power hero, save the day? This game is the best thing Disney’s had its name on in a long time.

City of Bones September 25, 2007

Clare, Cassandra (2007). City of Bones, the Mortal Instruments series. NY: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 485 pages.

Clary Fray is your average teenager – if you don’t count her fabulously beautiful, mysterious, genius artist mom. Unfortunately her fabulously beautiful, mysterious, genius artist mom DOES count, and when she goes missing, Clary’s search for her ends up drawing her into a world of demons, angels, hot boys, and mortal peril.

Reading this book was sort of like eating cheesecake, I liked it for the first two bites and then everything after that was too much and gave me a stomach ache. I usually dig these supernatural romances, with all the angst and drama – but this book had about three love triangles too many. Well, there were only three total, but I’m not particularly fond of love triangles, so that was a major turn-off.

For those who are familiar with Cassandra Clare’s earlier net-published works, there are no surprises here. Draco Jace, shadowhunter and bad boy, is sexy and morally conflicted. Ron Xander Simon is a wonderfully witty and under-appreciated side character. And Clary – Clary is a Mary Sue. Cassandra Clare, while she can create interesting and compelling characters, has a very hard time here realistically depicting the details of her protagonist’s life, from her artistic talents (overly and obnoxiously romanticized) to her curly hair (never frizzy!) As a curly haired artist, there were points during the novel that I was actually offended by the level of, how shall I put it? Artistic license.

Booktalk Hook: If you’ve ever wanted Buffy the Vampire Slayer to have babies with His Dark Materials, you’re in luck: you can find the best of both fictional worlds in Cassandra Clare’s dark and sexy Mortal Instruments series.

And if you liked the book: You might want to try Winter Sonata, which has a lot of the same angsty, romantic flavor.

And remember kids, double check your family tree before you go after the hot new boy on the block.