Deviant

I was browsing my library's young adult section a few days ago, looking for something creepy.  I had just picked up two novels by John Green (if I could marry his books, I would; they are utterly fantastic) and was trying to find something on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Believe me, I found it.  Deviant, by Adrian McKinty, was creepy, yes, but it was truly differed from anything by John Green because of the quality of the writing.  Simply put, Deviant was an interesting idea with absolutely horrible execution.

Here's the official description of this story:
"Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for “tough cases.” At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted—what the teachers say, what the students reply—and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to “clean up” Colorado Springs."

If you want my opinion, which I'm assuming you do because you're reading my blog, the description of this book should go something like this: "An unlikeable, shallow skater boy is sent to a creepy school where everyone wears white gloves and religion is practiced in secret.  Then all of a sudden a bunch of neighbourhood cats start getting mutilated, and our Unlikeable Shallow Skater Boy has to figure out whodunnit with his troupe of seriously-underdeveloped rich friends."  It's not about a kid's descent into murder.  It's not about a killer "cleaning up" Colorado Springs.  In fact, even after reading this book, it's hard for me to tell you what it's about, because the sketchy POV switches, various murderers and motives and supernatural-realistic-science-fiction-y twists really don't add up to much.  The ending was weak, the dialogue was incredibly unrealistic, and by the end of the book, I was like, "Oh, ___'s the killer?  Remind me who that is again?" 

I don't know, you may find it cutting-edge or creepy or see something in it I didn't.  But personally, I won't be reading this again.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

1.5/5



Long time, little read

Hi all.  It's been 9 months since I last reviewed anything - school was pretty horrendous this year and I'm only now getting back into the swing of "oh-my-gosh-there's-a-library-and-I-can-read-books-for-pleasure-instead-of-school".  I've basically been reading a book a day for the past several days and want to keep that up; hopefully I'll get a bunch of new reviews in before school starts again and turns this blog from a hobby into a thing of the past for like, the third year in a row.  So check out my next few posts & have a great summer reading!

The Hypnotist's Love Story

Liane Moriarty's novel was a serious surprise.  Serious in that the book sleeve quoted the main character as dating a new guy who had a stalker............interesting, not frightening; more of an engaging quirky ex-girlfriend who might be interesting to meet.

Several ex-boyfriends came in an out of memory, constantly being compared (some more favorably than others) to the new, possibly serious relationship.

The new guy is a father on an eight year-old son, and a widower going on five years.  His (now) stalker moved in with him and his then under three-year old and they lived together for three years. She grew into being a mother of his son, but he used the three years to learn how to live without his wife (barely).  One month after her mother died, he told her it was over and she moved out.  Out of his home, but not his life.  Two years later she continues following him, sending emails and letters, leaving voice mails, going into his house..........

And then, when she finds out that he is dating a hypnotist, she schedules an appointment under an assumed name.  And the stalking continues............ She becomes more and more desparate as the new couple gets closer.......pregnant............engaged........moving in together.

Pain, desperation, lonliness, separation, illness, alienation, hysteria, disassociation............all of the characters are feeling it all.

In the end she is, so she thinks, cured and everyone is expecting .a normal life.  We'll see.

5/5 stars

August Picks

Hey, y'all.  I've been out for a while (everyone has problems, and I'm no exception).  But school's starting tomorrow and I'll be getting back in the swing of things, so here are a few new great books I've read this month.

Recovery Road - Blake Nelson
"Madeline is starting junior year in rehab. She hates the losers surrounding her - all except for Trish. Soon the two are escaping the halfway house every Tuesday to go to the movies with other recovering addicts. It is here that Madeline meets Stewart, another recovering addict, and the two teens are immediately drawn together. What follows is a story about being in love while trying to survive sobriety."

I loved this concept, and the ending was beautifully sad.  There were a few issues - the plot/pacing is great in the first half, but about 2/3 of the way through, all the emotion dies out, making it read more like a list of what happened than an actual story.  That said, the book was fairly realistic with a relatable, fiery main character - I've read lots of "girl-finds-love-in-rehab" books, but I would definitely give this a read for its intense storyline.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5



Gentlemen - Michael Northrup
"Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren't just from the wrong side of the tracks--they're from the wrong side of everything. No one at their high school takes them seriously, except for Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher. Mr. Haberman calls them "gentlemen," but everyone else ignores them--or, in Bones's case, is dead afraid of them. When one of their close-knit group goes missing, the clues all seem to point in one direction: to Mr. Haberman."

If you've ever seen River's Edge, then you may understand the chillingly nonchalant atmosphere of this thin read.  Gentlemen's slow pacing (usually) adds to the suspense - you figure plot points out more quickly than the characters, and then have to wait for them to slowly realize what's going on.  Usually, I find this technique incredibly annoying, but when what's being implied is this horrific, it just makes the book scarier.  Unfortunately, I thought the ending fell seriously flat - after the boys (who, incidentally, are extremely under-developed characters, to the extent that they're total stereotypes) finish doing their dirty deeds, everyone's just waiting around for the inevitable to happen.  On a side note: there is a rape scene, which everyone's all up-in-arms about being too graphic.  Yes, it's graphic, but it just goes to prove how desensitized these characters have been to violence and the evil acts that surround them.  Very sad.

If you're looking for a slim, atmospheric novel, don't ignore this one.  It has some redeeming qualities.  Just keep in mind that every book has its flaws, and this is no exception.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

2.5/5

Matched - Ally Condie

"Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black."

I've read this book twice now, once for a book club and once just for fun, and each time I liked it a bit more.  I mean, it's a creepy dystopian world plus a pretty intense love triangle: a common archetype, nowadays, but handled with decent originality.  Cassia starts out subservient to the Society, and completely fine with that, but as a reader, we get to watched her bloom into someone who sees the truth and has a will to fight.  Her progress is kind of rushed, true, but it centers around events that are paced well, and an impossible love (that's always a nice touch).  What I really loved about all of this, though, was that she didn't just jump into extended chapters of backstory - you were fed bits and pieces almost as an afterthought, because that's what a narrator would do, realistically.  If you were telling an alien about your whole life story, you wouldn't go into explicit details about every facet of your life; you'd focus on the big things, adding details where necessary.  Weird analogy, I know, but I'm just trying to explain ... that this is a great book.  Read it.

It also has a couple of sequels, one of which I'm gonna start on today.  It's a trilogy (hugely overdone, but I love them anyway), so expect the rest of the reviews done as I get ahold of the books.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5

Those are the major books I've read recently, but I'm currently in the middle of many more.  Here are some titles to watch for:

Crossed - Ally Condie

"Cassia is determined to find Ky after he has been taken by the Society into the Outer Provinces where the Society intends for him to be a casualty in the ongoing war.  Soon her journey is not just about finding Ky but also joining the rebellion in hopes of changing the Society itself."

The Watch That Ends The Night: Voices From The Titanic - Allan Wolf

"How do you tell a dramatic story when you know that everyone alreasy knows the ending?  Arrogance and innocence, hubris and hope--twenty-four haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, as well as the iceberg itself, are evoked in a stunning tour de force."

Everybody Sees The Ants - A.S. King

"Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?"

All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin

"In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine - until Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family."

The Hanging Woods - Scott Loring Sanders
"Maybe it would have been better if Walter had never found out the things he did. Maybe he didn't really want to know. But then again, maybe he did."

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery ... "

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

"For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again."

Looking at this list, I really, really need to finish some books.

Hate it love it wanna recommend it?  Hit comment down there and let me know what's on your mind!  Guestbook coming soon.

Black-Eyed Suzie

My dad checked this book out from the library when I was probably six, read it in one sitting, and made me swear that I would never, ever read "that dreadful, dreadful book".  Now, my dad has never been very good at forbidding me to do things, and I've never been very good at obeying orders, so you can probably see where this went.  When he checked it in, I grabbed it off the "to-be-shelved" rack and read it, right there in the library.  And now, almost ten years later, I read it again.

My dad was right - Black-Eyed Suzie, by Susan Shaw, really isn't appropriate for a six year old.  That being said, I would recommend it to practically everyone else.  The narration is full of personality, and the characters (a few of them, at least), are developed surprisingly well for such a short little book.  Suzie is a dark-eyed twelve year old whose only job is to sit on her golden chair, knees tucked up to her chest - silent.  It's how she avoids her mother's abuse and her father's neglect.  But when Uncle Elliott comes for a visit, Suzie and her family are in for some big changes ... Always touching but sometimes aggravatingly overdone, it's a highly original take on domestic violence and a child's need for love.  It ends perfectly, with a few loose endings - but that's life.  Very nice book.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

3.5/5

Lucky

As you probably know, I'm not a great fan of the graphic novel genre.  I guess this means I'm not the best equipped to review them - Lucky, by Gabrielle Bell, just wasn't my cup of tea.

I've come across some absolutely fantastic graphic novels in my time: Blankets by Craig Thompson and the recently-reviewed Asterios Polyp to name a few.  I'd like to think I know the good ones when I see them.  If that's true, then Lucky just isn't that great a novel.  Yes, it's filled with simple, attractive drawings, but the plot is practically non-existent.  It's meant to tell a story, but to me it felt like a collection of anecdotes, none of which flow.  The book is divided into three parts: Lucky #1 (her first "book", discarded in favor of) Lucky #2 (which she left at an airport), all culminating in the book I just finished reading, Lucky #3.  I mean, there were some very nice sections, like when Gabrielle (did I mention it's an autobiography?) discovers why a pair of ex-roomates began feuding.  In general, it's a story about Ms. Bell and her artsy friends/boyfriend apartment-hunting and trying to make enough money to deal with life.  Which is fine, it just creates a book that reads more like a rather boring diary than anything entertaining.

It's pretty short (just over 100 pages) so if you have some time to kill, I might suggest browsing through it, but if you're looking for a creative, quirky little book in this genre, turn to Passionella and Other Stories, by Jules Feiffer.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

2/5

One last quick post ...

 .. before I get into some reviews.  I promise.

I'm still working on some coding (making sure every book has the right link, and each post credits an author, etc), but I've made a few changes you might find useful.  First off, I made a new page (you can find it on the top bar of  the blog), just to describe my purpose, and deleted the Book List page, because it was too difficult to keep updating.  If you're looking for a list of all reviewed books to date, just look in the archived posts (towards the bottom of the right hand side).  I also made links a bit easier to spot - instead of being almost invisible, they're now dark green and turn blue when you hover over them.

More new features to come, including advertisements (on other people's pages for THIS blog, not the other way around) to drum up some followers, and even some book giveaways (probably every other month after we hit twenty followers, to keep the odds in everybody's favor:)  I also am working towards a custom domain (I hate the little hungrylionelbooks.BLOGSPOT.com thing).

Hope you're having a great summer, stay hungry for some new reads, coming up soon!

 - Hungry Lionel