The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

2 Stars

 

When Hayley’s dad Andy returned from fighting overseas five years ago, he was a changed man. He tried battling his PTSD by running – taking Hayley with him over-the-road and home schooling her. Now Andy and Hayley have moved back to their hometown in an attempt to give Hayley a sense of normalcy for her senior year of high school. But how can Hayley ever know what "normal” is when she is being raised by someone who can “turn into a werewolf even if the moon isn’t full” and when she is fighting demons of her own?

Oh man. This was a solid 4-Star book. Such a heavy storyline, so well written and so haunting (especially Andy’s narratives). I was almost positive this was going to be a winner and make me cry big fat tears. Until the end . . .



This book was dark. I was prepared for dark. A particular reoccurring scene in the book led me to believe it was going to get super dark. I braced myself for a huge blow and armed myself with a box of tissues. Sadly, the book didn’t deliver.



I’ll be the first to admit I can be a harsh critic. I am also very forgiving - especially when it comes to YA novels. I have come to expect the fact that there's a good chance I won't like the main character. At any point in the book. Period. I have come to expect situations might be handled with "kid gloves" (no pun intended) compared to other novels. What I don't expect is for an author to throw in the towel and write what may be the crappiest ending I've ever read. Many will love this book and won’t have a problem with the ending at all, but for me? Those final few pages of suckitude caused me to drop my rating dropped significantly. 

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

4 Stars

 

ARC received from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley!!!!

Jersey lost everything in the tornado. Her house, her sister, her mother. Her entire life was changed in a matter of moments. With all of her wordly possessions able to fit in a backpack, Jersey is sent to live with family she has never known

and has to come to terms with her family’s true history.

I read this one a couple of weeks ago and somehow never got around to writing a review. Today I log on to Facebook to stalk see this:

Shame on me for not posting a review as soon as I finished Torn Away. Heck, when I received my ARC Jennifer Brown was out doing this:

which popped this little baby right to the top of the to-read pile.

I can’t say enough about Jennifer Brown. Not only is she maybe one of the nicest humans on the planet, but she writes really good stuff for young adults. Her books always deal with important/controversial topics that need to be addressed, but walk that fine boundary line of remaining okay for the younger set to read.

 

Go buy her stuff. It's time to reward all the "authors behaving goodly" (yeah, goodly isn't a word - but I'm using it anyway). 

As always, I will add my disclaimer: If you have not yet read anything by Jennifer Brown, make sure you save The Hate List for last. It is by far one of the best YA - screw the YA moniker - one of the best novels PERIOD I have read and makes her other books (that are really solid stories themselves) pale in comparison.

Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

3.5 Stars

 

Jamie (a/k/a “Punkzilla”) has been on the run. Running from his past, running from his father, “the Major”, running from the boarding school he was sent to in Missouri. After being contacted by his dying brother, Punkzilla makes the decision to stop running and head to Memphis and see his brother before it’s too late.

What did I think of Punkzilla? Hmmmmmmmmmm . . .



Screw it – I’m writing this before my brain gets a chance to work against me even more. The truth is, I’m not really sure what I think about it. Punkzilla was added to my TBR pile during my quest to find books that would make me get all feely. The library guaranteed it would bring the tears.



No, seriously, I’m not crying. That’s not to say it wasn’t good. Hell, it won the Printz Award so it’s probably great, right? It was just so different that I don’t really know what to say. I like when an author is brave enough to take a different approach to telling his tale, so choosing to write this novel as a series of correspondence was great. Many times I find myself wanting to strangle YA leads, but that was not the case here. Jamie was endearing and had a great voice. I like reading YA that pushes the boundaries and is really not for kids (seriously - this has some very mature content). But . . . . . there was just something missing (mainly MORE of the story), so



Again, my apologies for such a blasé review. Here is a .gif of a baby monkey taking a bath in order hopefully keep you reading here : )

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

Read in August, 2012

 

0 Stars

It’s rare that I go back and review a book that I read in my past life (see what I did there?) as a non-book-reviewer. That being said, with movie promos bombarding my television night and day, I figured it was time to make an exception. Let me begin by stating I do not read book jackets and was always a pretty willing guinea pig when it came to reading whatever friends/co-workers/relatives/acquaintances wanted to pass my way. All that changed after I read this book.

The past few weeks I have been asked the same questions over and over again. I figured it was time to express my feelings once and for all.

“Have you read Heaven is for Real?????"

Unfortunately, yes and I have not spoken to the co-worker who recommended it to me in almost two years now.



“Did you like it????”



“Should I read it????”



Possibly the most poorly written novel I have ever read. Imagine these immortal words from the classic film Billy Madison pertain to this book and that about sums up all that needs to be said regarding how I feel.

The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan

1.5 Stars

An epic mother/daughter saga that spans 50 years. The Valley of Amazement tells the story of Lucia, who became pregnant as a teen and left her family in hopes of marrying her Chinese lover. When he refuses to go against his family’s wishes, Lucia must survive on her own – eventually opening a courtesan house that caters to both East and West. The story continues with Lucia’s daughter, Violet, unrecognized by her father’s family she becomes a virgin courtesan at 12, but constantly hopes to find love, marriage and happiness. The tale ends with Violet’s daughter, Flora, who may be the only person who can bring these wounded women back together.

I’m fairly certain I had an “it’s not you, it’s me” moment with this book. After reading several works by Amy Tan, I am ready to admit, I just don’t like her writing.

The Valley of Amazement, like all of Amy Tan’s books, can be summarized quite simply:



The difference between this and her other books? Instead of this book reminding me of Tan’s other works, it reminded me of something else



That something is called Memoirs of a Geisha. Now I read Geisha about 150 years ago, so it’s probably not nearly as good as I believed it to be at the time, but I have a feeling I'd still find it to be better than this one. Good lord with the so many pages and words and never ending misery and need for editing. Add to that a host of characters that I absolutely COULD. NOT. STAND. and once again I feel let down by Amy Tan.

I will own up to the fact that I am not a book-clubby-book kind of gal and millions of others will find this to be Tan’s greatest masterpiece. To that I say more power to you. It was just not my cup of tea.

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs

1 Star

 

Hmmmmmm, what can I say about Naked Lunch????? I think I’ll let the immortal words of Gwen Stefani speak for me . . .



I’ll gladly admit I’m probably too stupid to see the genius that Burroughs created with this book, but I just don’t see it. A series of incoherent ramblings from a drug-addled mind published in order to blur the boundary between art and obscenity that just don’t stand the test of time. 50+ years ago, this work was shocking, but now????? Notsamuch. Writing that was supposed to make me go mad or at the very least make me



only caused me to wonder why I continued wasting my time on this book instead of moving on to one of the other 17,000,000 on my to-read list.

In my opinion, if you want to read something from a – how should I put it – um, “medicinally inspired” author, then pick up some Hunter S. Thompson and close the door on Burroughs.

What I'd Say to the Martians (and Other Veiled Threats) by Jack Handy

3 Stars

 

One of my fondest childhood memories is spending Saturday night at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and staying up late to watch Saturday Night Live. A million few years later, I remain loyal to SNL – I’m just old now, so the correct name for Saturday Night Live would be something along the lines of Sunday Morning DVR.

SNL has a history of producing superstars,

(Note: I’m calling out Aidy Bryant as the next best thing. She brings the LOLz errry week)

but after 39 seasons on the air, one genius is seldom mentioned anymore. That would be Jack Handy. Lowbrow humor at its best – What I’d Say to the Martians was perfect to fill in the gaps and start me off fresh in between reading a real piece of garbage, a couple of downers, the millionth book in a series and one that I’m still not sure if I liked or hated. Perfectly stupid – I laughed again and again and realized that little did I know way back when how useful Jack’s SNL advice would become or that I'd so quickly jump to read his books.

Jack has helped me learn how to release my anger without going to prison . . .

and with child rearing . . .

and just how to be a better person in general . . .

The perfect coffee table book for those of you who have a sense of humor that leans more than a bit to the demented side.