Jessica Day George: Princess of Glass

Not super-amazing, but yet not-totally horrible either. 
Luckily I didn't have high expectations when I started it. 

The characters were fun, not very deep, but fun...
Princess Poppy (yes, one of the cursed dancing sisters from Princess of the Midnight Ball) is our heroine, and yet another curse comes within close proximity of someone she loves. 
Poppy's friend Marianne is just as brazen and fun as Poppy is.
Ellen-once Elenora--is now a maid and an easy target for The Corley. 
Prince Christian is handsome and fun and a good match for Poppy, but The Corley wants him for her purposes. 

The story is slightly lacking; part-Cinderella and part more of Princess of the Midnight Ball--multitudes of perspectives, a curse, magic, and an unsatisfying resolution.

Eh.

Megan Whalen Turner: The Thief

I hadn't ever expected to read this book.  But when two of your former students show up to your football game with wrapped presents and strict instructions as to which order to unwrap/read the presents, and to avoid looking for the third book at all costs until the second book was finished, I couldn't NOT read it!!

And to be honest, I wasn't totally thrilled with this book until about page 200.  And then I couldn't put it down.  And then the end hit me like I had just ran into a brick wall and because it didn't hurt enough the first time, I went back and repeated the action. 

I can't say much about the book.  The twist at the end should not be revealed until the reader gets to that page and experiences it with the other characters. 

I am amazed at Turner's ability to suck a reader in, and totally mess with the reader. 

Let's just say that Gen is the best thief ever.  We experience the story through his eyes/voice, and while I didn't love him, he did grow on me. 

I need to read the next book to get more of a grasp on the big picture, so I apologize for the very vague and unhelpful "review."  I liked the characters, when the action got underway, and the mythology throughout the book.  Some of the names/places/backstory are frustrating and confusing, but at the end everything becomes worthwhile!!

On to The Queen of Attolia!!

John Kroger: Convictions

A 500-page read is daunting.  This book read much faster than I anticipated. 
This was our April Book Club selection, and the woman who chose it DIDN'T MAKE IT to book club.  And only 3 of the 5 of us who showed up read it!!  Needless to say, there wasn't a large amount of talking about the book.  And I even had questions I wanted to discuss!!! :)

I wasn't ever interested in the law, and then I got put on a Grand Jury at the end of February, and I got to see the legal system in action for five weeks.  I became enthralled with the way our justice system functions, and then I started to read Kroger's book, and there is a little piece of me that wishes I would have gone into the law.  I think the research would be fascinating, but I am pretty sure they don't just have jobs for researching--and if they do, I am sure it isn't a good-paying job (or stable).  So, I will just have to live with my brief dabble in the land of legal matters, and be glad I do not have any criminal association with the legal system (I am knocking on wood!).

I liked this book.  I didn't like the Enron chapter, but the other chapters make up for the last portion of the book that is dedicated to white-collar criminals (who were not interesting at all--more infuriating than anything).. 
One of my friends in Book Club really hated this book at the beginning, but then Kroger's style grew on her.  For me, it was the opposite.  I enjoyed it right away.  Kroger's voice is not too pretentious (and that's saying something for a lawyer!), and I didn't get the sense that I was being talked down to.

A great deal of power lies in the hands of District Attorneys, more than I would have ever thought.  And for people who are ignorant, there is a good chance that the wrong kind of person could hold office. 

Kroger grapples with his conscious more than I was anticipating (realizing a lawyer has a conscious is a new perspective for me), and the reader experiences the moral struggles and frustrations that Kroger describes. 

I have more research to do about Kroger and the questions I wrote down for Book Club, but another friend has my copy with all my notes/questions, so I will have to wait. 

Overall, the sections of the book about the Mafia are amazing, and the read is worth the brief glimpse into a life of an Assistant United States District Attorney.

I am hoping that Kroger someday writes a book about his cross-country bicycle trip.  The BRIEF mention of some of the individuals he encountered was enthralling.

Robin McKinley: Pegasus

I really wanted to like this book. I LOVE the cover.  I LOVE the idea. 

But then the first 59 pages were daunting and frustrating.  And then it got AWESOME.  I fell in love with the main character Sylvi and her bound Pegasus Ebon.  But then there were so many jumpy moments, where you were with Sylvi in the moment and then the story would venture to a flashback--so I would have to sort out where I was, where the story was, before I could progress. 

And then the last 83! pages were a nightmare--truly a NIGHTMARE.  Don't even get me started on the end of the book.  Or NON-ENDING as many have said before me. 

I will be honest. I probably wouldn't have read this book had I known there were more that were to follow.  This is hardcover, therefore, the sequel won't be out for at least a year.  NOT UNTIL 2012!!!
While Catching Fire ended with so many questions and the reader feels like it is a non-ending, the reader EXPECTS this type of ending in the second book of a trilogy!  I might have peeked ahead to the end of the book mid-way (a bad habit I know!), and in my confusion did some research and THEN found out that this will probably be a trilogy as well.

McKinley is a good writer.  But as a YA book, this is extremely wordy, it is frustrating to sort out all the names (that are very foreign and some are superfluous), the new language and landscape, and overall, the perfect match must be made between reader and book for this to be a true page turner. 

I LOVED when Sylvi was in the Pegasi homeland--Rhiandomeer--I loved the conversations between Sylvi and Ebon, and Sylvi and the other Pegasi.  But I skimmed Fthoom (the evil magician) and his speech about the dream he had about the Roc which basically set up the worst "ending" ever. 

So now I have a bitter taste in my mouth, so I am going to reread when Ebon and Sylvi first were bound and their conversations.  That makes me happy and fulfilled!

Esther Friesner: Sphinx's Queen

Loved this.  I was worried that I wouldn't like it as much as book 1, but it is actually written well enough that it could even function as a stand-alone book.
I really appreciated that this WAS Nefertiti's story--while there were elements of love and other plot lines, this was about her and her coming to power within herself. 
I really enjoyed it. It is lengthy, and would need true passion for a thick story, but once a student became invested in Nefertiti's story, satisfaction would follow.
I am not sure how I feel about the conversations about gods/religion that took place throughout this book especially, but I appreciate the choice to grapple with the complex way humans choose to surrender their faiths.

Nicole Krauss: Great House

This wins the award for "least talked about book at book club." 
Which sucks because I did want to talk about it--because I disliked it so much. I wanted to hear from those who did like it.  But there were other things to talk about and maybe next month's book will be more conversation-inducing.  :)

On to the book.

As I read in one review putting a bunch of short stories in a thick text, doesn't make a novel...And as some of my book club ladies pointed out--Krauss spells out E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. for the reader, rather than allowing readers and readers' intelligences to make some connections and ideas for themselves. 

This book is 8 total chapters.  Each story connects to the others, but the connection is revealed so painfully slowly that it isn't worth the effort getting to the connection.  For example, the first narrator's name isn't even revealed until page 38.  Her name isn't that important, but still...I have a hard time caring about a character whose name I am not even aware of.  This initial irritation led to more and more bitterness during my reading--especially with pages upon pages of meaningless blather and name-dropping of locations-- like Krauss thinks she is so much better than everyone because she knows all these foreign locations and connections to them.
It was annoying.  The book was annoying.  The best parts included connections to the Jewish faith and the unspeaking father who desperately needs a relationship with his estranged son.  Even though his son's estrangement is never fully explained in a satisfying way.  Much like the entire book.

YUCK.

Rebecca Skloot: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This is our book club book this month--we meet on the 29th, so I will write more following our discussion.  I will say this--I CAN'T WAIT TO TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!!!!

Esther Friesner: Sphinx's Princess

Had to finish this one today so I can start the next one!  I liked this one almost as much as Nobody's Princess, but I am hoping that the second isn't as disappointing as Nobody's Prize was as a follow-up to the awesome first book.

I appreciate the historical component Friesner includes in her books, and I don't feel like it is a pretentious history book of a read, but rather a fun and exciting story.  Friesner also writes some strong heroines and I really appreciate Nefertti's inner dialogue and struggles to be herself.  I love Egyptian history--especially their spiritual beliefs and multitudes of Gods, but towards the end of the text, the "One" references (impending impact of Christianity) became obvious and tacky--but that might just be me.  Overall, total candy read--fast-paced, and I am hoping that mean-king bites the big one in book 2! 

Jillian Larkin: Vixen

While the cover is beautiful, it is misleading and disheartening.  There are 3 main characters, and EACH should be on the cover.  They are each VERY different, and this cover makes them seem like they all blend together and have no individual characteristics.

I tried to avoid the negative reviews on GoodReads, and I am glad that I did.  I enjoyed this book.  I enjoyed being taken back in time to flapper days and the prohibition.  Lorraine bothered me, Clara intrigued me (though her secrets and story perhaps were too drawn out, but I know why Larkin did what she did), and Gloria was the one I wanted to be.

I am nervous for what will come in book two due in 2011, especially with the way Lorraine and Gloria's stories left off, and interested to see how one of the final events will play off in the next book.

The story did seem familiar--think Titanic's love story only with no boat, during the 20's and an African American piano player versus Leonardo DiCaprio.  And some of the scenes, while completely essential, seem almost too contrived (Lorraine showing Gloria how to fire a gun, individual, hands-on music lessons with Jerome, Marcus falling for the girl instead of staying true to the "plan," etc), but overall this was a really fun read, and a fun time period.

I wish more was developed with the flapper lifestyle versus the socialite lifestyle, but I think that book 2 will bring that since it appears that one character may be on the lam.
I did love the vernacular.  "Cats pajamas,"  "flibbertigibbet," and "barney mugging" --LOVE IT!! I also was envious of the time period where flat-chested women with short, bobbed-hair  were the epitome of flapper beauty--women taped themselves to ensure a flat chest and true flappers cut their hair off rather than just pin it up.

I am looking forward to book 2, even though the title (Ingenue) might not get the appreciation it deserves. 
One thing about this book though--recommending this book to students will really require knowledge of the student--a student with good vocabulary, an interest in history, and a student who will look up unknown things--speakeasies, Chicago in the age of prohibition, flappers, etc. 

The three-person narration makes the length manageable and it was a pretty quick read--even for 417 pages!!!

Amy Efaw: After

Meh...I had really high hopes for this book. 
Yes, it was extremely well written--excellent descriptions, different imagery employed, interesting story--but the manner in which the story was conveyed is hard to fall in love with. 
Then again, the subject matter isn't one to fall in love with.
From page one, the reader is confused.  Action occurs immediately, and I tried to figure out what was happening.  I understand that Efaw wants the reader to experience what Devon experiences, but later in the text there is just too much left out, too many holes, too many unanswered questions that the technique isn't as successful as it could have been. 
It isn't a secret that this book is about Devon, a straight-A amazing soccer player who is sent to juvinile detention for putting her baby in a dumpster after its birth.
The book spans 8 days, but in mini-flashbacks, what happened with Devon and IT is painfully and slowly revealed.  And the end of the book? Seriously?  Irritating isn't a harsh enough word, but I understand the attempt. 
Overall, I am not sure if I can sell this book to my students because of the odd structure and the fact that I didn't totally get into the book until mid-way.  I gave it more of a chance than many would.  But I really wanted to like it.