Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging December 6, 2007

Rennison, Louise (2000). Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. NY: Harper Collins, 247 pages.

Georgia Nicolson’s dad is moving to New Zealand, her cat is a feral predator, and the produce boy is trying to steal away her best friend. But these things are nothing next to the possibility of winning over a sex god.

This book is sort of a junior high version of Bridget Jones’s Diary, complete with witty diary entries, zanny mishaps, and romantic comedy. On the other hand, this book completely fails at making you like the heroine. Or the titular cat. Or the sex god, who, considering his age, just comes off as a little creepy. Mind you, when I was 14, I wanted to date older guys too… but 19? Really? Georgia herself is almost pathologically self-centered, and is by turns cruel and callous towards her friends and family. It’s a match made in…

Still, it was decent (and very funny) light reading.

Booktalk Hook: Bridget Jones in High School!

If you want more: Try the Gossip Girls series… at least the characters will be a little more likable.

Dairy Queen November 19, 2007

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert (2006). Dairy Queen. Boston : Houghton Mifflin. 275 pages.

15 year old D.J. might as well be a cow – she does what everyone expects her to, and she does it without complaining – or talking at all, really. But once she starts fighting back against her bovine destiny, she’s going to change everyone around her, from her silent brother, to her stern father (and his brownies), to the starting quarterback of the rival football team.

This book covers everything you could possibly expect a novel to cover. The short summary I wrote above? Just the barest minimum of surface skimming. This book has sports (namely football – why do I keep reading books about football? where are the books on tennis, a sport I at least know something about!), and romance, and family drama, and growing up. The basics, really. All done with a really simple and beautiful first person narration that feels really honest and moving. Just reading the book, I became very attached to D.J., which is something I don’t always get from books and value all the more because of it.

The family drama aspect was realistic and understated – no one here is really wrong, or horrible and abusive. D.J.’s mom is busy. Her younger brother won’t talk – there’s nothing wrong with him, he just doesn’t like talking. Her two older brothers won’t come home. And her dad, recently injured in an accident, is learning how to be a house-husband, when maybe what he really needs to learn is how to talk to his children. And D.J.? She’s trying to balance running the farm almost on her own with the rest of her life.

And if that’s not enough, there’s also Brian, the quarter back of a rival team who comes to work on the farm. At first full of friction, Brian and D.J.’s relationship grows into a mutually beneficial partnership, and then into a friendship, but D.J. doesn’t kid herself that Brian is even remotely in her league. Brian and D.J. have a lot of chemistry that reads very well – think about what would happen if Elizabeth Bennett decided to train Mr. Darcy in football. Yeah, it’s pretty fabulous.

Booktalk Hook: Are you a cow?

If you like this book: You’ll probably enjoy Hana Yori Dango (live action – I take no responsibility if you watch the anime or read the manga). It’s less realistic in terms of family drama, and… ok, actually just not very realistic at all, but it has a romance plot with a similar flavor, and it is just as insanely entertaining.  Or if this book has given you a love of all things dairy, try indulging it further with Harvest Moon, an adorable farming sim video game series.

The Unseen: It Begins November 17, 2007

Cusick, Richie Tankersley (2005). It Begins, the Unseen series. NY : Speak. 296 pages.

After finding a dying girl in a graveyard, Lucy has been plagued by psychic powers she doesn’t understand. Then there’s the problem of finding out whoever murdered the girl – or who kissed Lucy behind the fair tents?

As it turns out, this author wrote what I think must be the first Buffy novel waaaaay back in 1992, before the TV series. However, for someone who has been writing trashy horror novels for over 15 years, Cusick hasn’t really added much to her writing arsenal. Not that this book doesn’t please – it’s thrilling, suspenseful, and sexy. On the other hand, Lucy is an irritating wet blanket who spends the entire book practically regurgitating Evanescence lyrics and indulging in some truly emo whining about How Sad Her Life Is. Once I got started, I couldn’t put the book down, but once I finished? I really didn’t want anything more to do with Lucy.

Also, who goes out onto the terrace in their see-through pink nightie in the rain because they think that maybe they saw a murderer outside? WHO DOES THAT?!! People who deserve to get stalked for three more books, that’s who. Too bad I won’t be reading them…

Booktalk Hook: If books were food, this book would be a Mars bar, deliciously goopy interior, and absolutely no nutritional value. Yum.

If you like this book: Check out fanfiction.net, and read some Buffy or Yami no Matsuei fanfic.

Knights of the Hill Country October 19, 2007

Tharp, Tim (2006). Knights of the Hill Country. NY : Alfred A. Knopf. 233 pages.

Hampton Green is on the brink of becoming a legend – he’s the star of the football team in a town where football is practically a religion, and his team is on its way to a record number of undefeated games. But the rest of his life isn’t going nearly that well. His mom only seems to have time for her string of short term boyfriends. His best friend is coming unglued. And the only girl he can talk to is completely inappropriate for him, according to the etched-in-stone social hierarchy of high school.

This book draws heavily from the old legends and stories of the medieval era. Being a Kennisaw Knight is more than just being a member of a football team – it’s a way of life. It means fighting for your honor, never giving up, and, according to Hampton’s friend Blaine, enjoying the perks that come with a heroic victory (aka, the hottest girls in school). The metaphor works perfectly – not only in terms of equating football with war, there’s also the “town hero” idea, and the rigidity of the high school hierarchy (which I always felt was a little medieval) backing it up. The concept was really well done, with appropriate conflicts and resolutions building up the theme.

The book is written in Hampton’s unabashed, ungrammatically, country voice that nevertheless manages to be both efficient and lyrical. The characters are also well drawn – I particularly liked Sarah, Hampton’s unpopular love interest. Or maybe that was just because I could relate – her unfortunate nickname “Bush Girl” is very similar (yet slightly more inventive) than the one I had in junior high. Ah, memories!

All in all, this book was well written, well plotted, and well characterized – and I definitely recommend it. I even enjoyed the football scenes!

Booktalk hook: Do you like football? Do you hate football? Doesn’t matter, you’ll probably like this book either way.

And if you like this: You might want to try the football manga, Eyeshield 21, or Gordon Korman’s Zucchini Warriors.

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.