How to use this Page

Marr, Melissa. 2007. Wicked Lovely. HarperCollins. 328 pages.

"Four ball, side pocket." Aislinn pushed the cue forward with a short, quick thrust; the ball dropped into the pocket with a satisfying clack.

Aislinn is special, but she'd rather be ordinary. She's grown up seeing fairies. (As has her Grams.) She'd give anything to not be able to see these mischievous to menacing fairies. It means living life carefully. Following three important rules: don't stare at invisible fairies, don't speak to invisible fairies, don't ever attract their attention. By the end of the book, how many rules do you think Aislinn has broken?

Not that it's her fault. Aislinn seems rather destined to have this adventure. It all starts when the Summer King (a fairy), Keenan, begins dreaming about Aislinn. The game has begun, and poor Aislinn doesn't stand a chance. Keenan senses that she is the one. The mortal girl who will become his queen. (Hereby joining him in immortality.) Whether she wants him or no, she's about to become immortal. And she has three choices: becoming a mindless summer girl--a mindless, easy girl, or accepting the challenge and trying to become Keenan's queen: if she succeeds, she becomes queen; if she fails, well, you don't want to know how awful that can be. Just ask Donia. She's the last girl who tried to become queen. Now she's helplessly in love with the Summer King, but in the service of the Winter Queen, the Summer King's mother, the evil Beira. But when you're Aislinn, all of these so-called choices mean heartbreak. Because she wants to be mortal. She wants nothing to do with faeries. She wants only to have a normal life, to be with her best friend, Seth. He's the guy that she is dreaming of. He's the guy that makes her life worth living. Keenan? Don't even think about it. Seth's the one. The guy that understands and accepts her.

I enjoyed this one. It was fun. It was dark in places, but it wasn't too dark.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

If you're reading this on a site (other than Becky's Book Reviews or Becky's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Stead, Rebecca. 2009. When You Reach Me. Random House. 208 pages.

So Mom got the postcard today. It says Congratulations in big curly letters, and at the very top is the address of Studio TV-15 on West 58th Street. After three years of trying, she has actually made it. She's going to be a contestant on The 20,000 Pyramid, which is hosted by Dick Clark.

I really, really loved Rebecca Stead's first novel, First Light. So I was excited to get the opportunity to read her second novel, When You Reach Me. It has a completely different feel to it than her first one.

The novel is historical fiction--set in 1978/1979 in New York City. It's not strictly historical fiction. There's some mystery involved, a twist here and there that makes it unique. If I were trying to sell this book--book talk it if you will--I'd say that it was a loving tribute to the children's classic, A Wrinkle In Time. Our heroine, Miranda, just loves A Wrinkle In Time. Loves it to pieces. She probably feels about it the same way I feel about Ender's Game. That's love and devotion folks!

Part mystery. Part historical fiction. Part coming-of age. The plot focuses in on Miranda and her friends and classmates, her family and neighborhood. What's the mystery? Miranda receives a series of mysterious letters through the course of a few months. Letters that are personal and prophetic. Here's the first letter she receives:

M,

This is hard. Harder than I expected, even with your help. But I have been practicing, and my preparations go well. I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, that you write me a letter. Second, that you remember to mention the location of your house key in the letter. The trip is a difficult one. I will not be myself when I reach you.

Subscribe to receive updates in your favorite reader

If you're reading this on a site (other than Becky's Book Reviews or Becky's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Cook, Eileen. 2008. (Pub December 2008). What Would Emma Do. Simon Pulse. 307.

Modern-day Crucible. That about sums this one up. Set in a small-town in Indiana, Emma (Elizabeth) Proctor attends a private school--a Christian school--and church. It seems anyone and everyone is a believer in Wheaton. (At least on the surface.) Even the title is a play on words, What Would Jesus Do. Emma thinks sitting around and discussing WWJD is pretty lame. She thinks everything that goes on in Wheaton is lame. She's counting down the days, weeks, months until she can leave town forever without once looking back. But before Emma can leave, she has to clean up some of her messes.

The kiss. Her best friend's boyfriend. D'oh. What's Emma to do? Her best friend has 'forgiven' her but does she really and truly trust her? What do YOU think? So when Emma asks Colin (the boy in question) to take her to a party at "The Barn" she knows she's bending and stretching the rules. After all, Joann would never be okay with the two of them hanging out together without her. But an impulsive decision on her part starts her down a long road where she doesn't want to be heading...

Emma and Colin witness something. Something with consequences. No one knows they know. The right thing to do, of course, would be to come clean. To stop this witch-hunt before it even begins. But they don't. And they don't. And chaos sets in. Everything becomes topsy-turvy as the mob mentality takes over. Soon it becomes a "crime" to be different in any way... How long will Emma let this go on? How many innocent people have to get hurt before she steps up and does the right thing?

I liked The Crucible-ness of it. What I'm slightly on the fence about is the irreverence of elements of the story. Each chapter begins out with her 'prayer' to God. It's not out-and-out disrespectful. It's casual. Perhaps too casual--her praying for breasts and listing all the 'good things' she'd do in return if he'd grant her wish. It's questioning. In a way, I think it's down-to-earth and authentic-sounding. It feels honest like it is how a person might feel. However, Emma's vision of God isn't the God in the Bible. And if she was versed in the Bible, I think her tone would be different. That maybe just maybe she wouldn't see herself as being smarter than God and better able to manage the world. These sections--I liked some of them, but a few rubbed me the wrong way. Not enough to dislike the novel as a whole. But I could definitely see how some readers might find a few phrases offensive. I've selected one--not as an example of one I dislike in particular--just one that I think represents the essence of what they're like.

God, you know the Bible story about the tower of Babel, where no one can understand anyone else? Sometimes I think I'm living out that story. Everyone around me is speaking English, but we don't understand one another at all. I have to tell you, if I were going to pick a Bible story to live out, this wouldn't be it. I would prefer to be in the garden with a cute Adam (no fig leaf required). No disrespect to Eve, of course. To be honest, I would prefer Noah's ark, even with the catastrophic flood aspect. I like animals. In fact, I like animals more than I like most people I know. Then again, if I have to live out a Bible story, the Babel story is better than most of Revelation. The horsemen of the apocalypse freak me out. (81)

Harmel, Kristin. 2008. When You Wish.

I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Typically books written about teens who have it all--money, popularity, good looks, etc--don't do much for me. And on the surface, this book is about that. About a teen girl who supposedly "has it all."

Star Beck. A sixteen year old pop star who already has more than a few bestselling, record-breaking albums to her name. A beautiful long-haired, red-haired princess of pop. But Star is missing a few things--a real mother who is there for her, who listens, who is kind, who is supportive, who isn't all about the money and fame; a real father, one who didn't abandon her when she was three only to resurface when she's one of the most famous teens on the planet; a real boyfriend, one who isn't all about showy kisses for the media and making a big entrance; a real friend, one who won't sell her out to the tabloids. Of course her job is far from average, and her schooling is as well. She's got her GED, but she's not been to a real school in forever. Not since Disney (I think it was Disney in the book, it might have been Nickelodeon.) plucked her out of her ordinary existence and made her the rich and famous "it" girl of the moment. The only girl who doesn't want to be Star Beck is Star Beck.

So after a particularly bad day, Star gives herself a hair cut (at least it wasn't a shave), dyes her hair, and runs away from her hotel room (she's on tour). Now calling herself Amanda, she is determined to make her way to Florida. On her way to see her dad for the first time in thirteen years. Can a pop star on her own survive in the real world? Can she survive without being surrounded by her entourage, her people? Will she like it? Will she love it?

This book is a coming-of-age story, in a way, of a girl realizing who she is and isn't. About a girl realizing that she should have some say in her own life.

I definitely liked it. I think it complements Audrey, Wait well.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

McMann, Lisa. 2008. Wake.

Janie has a problem. No, it’s not that she thinks she’s too fat. It’s not that her dream guy isn’t asking her to the prom. Her problem? She has been falling into other people’s dreams. She first discovered this ability as a child—on a subway I believe (or public transit of some sort)—but it’s been getting worse, a lot worse since she’s become a teen. At school, her classmates have a tendency of falling asleep. And that spells trouble for our heroine, Janie. It’s not that all the dreams she falls into are nightmares, but any dream can become tedious after awhile. After all, how many times has she lived through others dreams of falling, or of being naked in a crowd of people, or other people’s sex dreams. (Just imagine it! Having to face your friends, your classmates, your enemies on a day to day basis after witnessing their most embarrassing dreams!) Yes, Janie wish this ability, this power would disappear. Maybe then she could have a normal social life, normal dating life.

I enjoyed Wake. It is an interesting premise, and I am pleased there will be a follow-up novel called Fade. While it has an intriguing opening, Janie experiencing a dream during the study period at the library, the book perhaps spends too much time setting up the story through a series of flashbacks. The flashbacks were like vignettes. Loosely connected. As a reader, you don’t really realize their significance, their purpose, until later. It is through these flashbacks that Janie is revealed, her friends and enemies revealed, her home life revealed. Did I enjoy this one? Yes. I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend it. I enjoyed it more once the ‘action’ was back to the present year of 2005 because the narrative flowed more smoothly then and read more like a traditional novel.

First sentence: Janie Hannagan’s math book slips from her fingers. She grips the edge of the table in the school library. Everything goes black and silent. She sighs and rests her head on the table. Tries to pull herself out of it, but fails miserably. She’s too tired today. Too hungry. She really doesn’t have time for this. (1)


© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews