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The following books were reviewed from ARCs and are being published in September:

Candor by Pam Bachorz

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

The Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Riot by Walter Dean Myers

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Riot by Walter Dean Myers. Egmont USA. September 2009. Reviewed from ARC from publisher.*

The Plot: A story of the 1863 New York Draft riots, told primarily through the eyes of Claire Johnson, 15, daughter of an Irish mother and black father.

The Good:

The problem with an ARC like this is I don't have the photographs, maps, and illustrations the final copy will have and, as an armchair history lover, I want them.

The author thanks Professors Padraig OCearuill and Marion Case of NYU's Glucksman Ireland House in this book. So, while my copy lacked the various back matter, my assumptions are that the history in this can be relied on. For example? Those thinking "a white mother? and black father? in New York City in the nineteenth century? I don't think so!" can be rest assured (if they rely on Wikipedia) that New York was one of a handful of states that never had laws about marriage between the races.

Riot is balanced; it portrays and does not excuse the violence, but Myers illustrates that the roots of the anger and the violence were about racial hatred, yes, but also fed by ignorance, poverty, and social injustice.

The use of a screenplay is interesting; unlike Monster, it's not being written by a character. It starts on the streets of present day New York, rapidly skipping back in time until July, 1863 is reached. Riot does not pretend to be written in the nineteenth century; from the first scene it's clear that this is a look at the past through present eyes, the present day unseen narrator being the screenplay writer.

The storytelling device focuses primarily on Claire, who, literally, has a foot in both worlds as the racial tension escalates into violence and she tries to figure out her place in her world. A number of other people are also introduced, covering the variety of people touched by the riots: a girl working at the Colored Orphan Asylum, soldiers, police officers, rioters, observers. The camera cuts away to these other players, always returning to Claire and how she sorts things out.

At times, the speech and action of Claire and others seems modern; but the screenplay format is a constant reminder that this isn't really historical fiction. It's often been said that historical fiction doesn't reveal as much about the historical time being presented as it does about the present. And that is what the sometimes modern thoughts or actions reminds us -- that Claire's questions about identity and race are not some long ago quaint question but are today's issues. Yes, we've elected the first black president; but look at the dialogue, still, about whether he is "black" or "white." Looking at the violence that "have nots" inflict on other "have nots" is not something safely in the past.

* True Story about how I got this ARC. Waiting for the plane to Chicago for ALA, I had a "meet up" with someone I know via Twitter, who works for Egmont, and gave me a copy. Add it to the list of "anecdotal evidence of the benefits of Twitter."


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Random House. September 2009. Reviewed from ARC supplied by publisher.

The Plot: Sixteen year old Cameron Smith is just another slacker at his Texas high school. Until he gets diagnosed with Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (aka mad cow disease), starts seeing angels, and ends up on a road trip to DisneyWorld with a dwarf, a yard gnome, and an angel.

The Good: This is so different from Libba Bray's other books -- I love when an author can do multiple things well. I don't see anything in Cameron's voice that reminds me of Gemma Doyle; the world in Going Bovine so different -- it's a joy to discover just how multi-talented Bray is, because all you can think is "Holy Hannah, what is she going to do next?"

There's some things I think I don't like in books. Then, what happens, is a book comes along that has the things I don't like and I realize it's not that I don't like something -- I don't like it when it isn't done well. Why, I wondered, do I want to go on a road trip with Cameron? And a dwarf? And yard gnome? This is just getting ridiculous. I don't do ridiculous.

But then, I remember, I do. I love The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Thursday Next delights me. Like Douglas Adams and Jasper Fforde, Bray throws out casual one-liners that are just fantastic; the book is so full of wry observances and over-the-top humor that I'm sure I missed half of what was there. This book demands a reread.

And a reread is needed not just for the humor; but also for the layered storytelling. Flat out the back of the book says, "Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit." If I told you the movies this reminded me of, I'd be giving spoilers. Which is why suddenly, instead of writing a long review, I'm coming up short. Because the joy of all 480 pages is not just Cameron's discoveries, but the reader's discoveries. And I'm not going to take that away from you.

Bray addresses serious questions -- about life, and belief, and what it means to live. Why does Cameron need the threat of death to wake him from his life? Do we live to our fullest? Much like Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal and Dogma, something that may be viewed as blasphemous actually asks the most serious of questions.

Hey, did I mention there are also Norse gods? Physics? Inuit Rock Stars? Music? New Orleans? All-U-Can-Eat Freedom Pancake Towers? Bowling? Smoothies?

Not only is this going on my favorite books list for this year; but I predict this being on starred/best of year lists. Also, this needs to be crossmarketed to adults, who will eat it up.

Links:
Teaser
My Twitter Review

Jen Hubert's Reading Rants review (which is brilliant)

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group. Publication date September 2009. Reviewed from ARC from ALA.

The Plot: Two teens, strangers to each other, starting at a new high school.

For Aurora, it's welcoming, all the kids like her, she doesn't have to worry about who to sit with at lunch.

For Lucius, not so much. Not that he really cares; but the kids who say "hi" to Aurora shun Lucius.

What's the difference? Is it that Aurora looks for the good in people? Is it that she is beautiful? Dresses perfectly?

Is it that Lucius has hooks for hands?

Oh. Yeah. Did I mention -- Lucius blew his arms off.

But when wounded, isolated Lucius sees beautiful, sweet Aurora; and Aurora looks into Lucius's eyes; sparks fly.

He's crazy, she's beautiful, can they wind up together?

The Good: LOVED THIS. Love, love, love.

Alternate chapters tell this story, first from Lucius's view, then Aurora; there are some clever overlaps, such as both are given pancakes and orange juice their first day of school, yet both have vastly different reactions to their breakfast. We see Lucius starting school, not expecting friends; Aurora starting school, nervous but expecting to like people and be liked.

We also, from the start, see and feel the spark between these two. And let me tell you - H. O. T. There is attraction; and there is tension; but of course these two crazy beautiful kids cannot get together at first glance.

See, Lucius used to have hands. Did up till a year ago. Back when he was a nerd, back when he was a science geek, and had a lab in his basement. An explosion; he blew up the house; and he lost his hands. His family is in a new house, a new town, trying to start over. And Lucius is trying to adjust to his new life; his life after.

Aurora's life looks perfect from the outside; just as she looks perfect. But what people don't know is her mother died last year; a slow five years in the making death from cancer. What keeps her from being unbearably sweet -- unrealistically sweet -- is that she truly is nice. A niceness honed by loving her mother, caring for her mother, and being taught to look for the good in people. Which is why, when she looks at Lucius, she sees him as a whole person, not hooks. Had this been only Lucius's point of view, we may have never understood Lucius falling for her. By seeing her view, her way of looking at the world, how she lights up when sees Lucius, we know her and want these two to connect.

This is an amazing love story, between two people you root for, who have realistic obstacles to overcome.

But it's also the story of a very wounded teenager. Not just physically. Lucius's world exploded -- was destroyed -- because of something he did. Literally. And it's not just himself he hurt; while they escaped injury, he also hurt his family. They lost everything. He's working out what he did to his family; to himself; what type of person he is, after; what type of person he was, before.

But it's not all love and angst (though there is plenty of both); there's also humor. Lucius has a younger sister: "mostly it's like [Misty] got the memo that kid sisters are supposed to be incredibly annoying and she follows those instructions religiously." But later scenes show a sibling bond that Lucius is either hesitant to admit to; or to guilty to acknowledge. Right, humor! Anyway, there are some scenes between Lucius and Misty that had me giggling.

What else? So much else! Because I could also do a paragraph on the parents; and the school dynamics; on Lucius's friendship with the school security guard and his realization of what friendship means; and I haven't even mentioned the school play, Grease, and those gosh darn Australians.

And it's not a long book! Baratz-Logsted does a beautiful job with conveying emotions, scenes, people with just a few words and lines. This is why I love young adult writers; they get to the point. They don't waste time with words that aren't needed and that take away from the story. Instead, it's the pure story that is told. Crazy Beautiful may be short; but it has more than enough to fall for Lucius, to champion Aurora, to know their friends and family, and, at the end, when the last final line is read, to turn back to the beginning and read it again.

I guess I'll sum up this way: check the sidebar, because this is another Favorite Book read in 2009.


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Candor by Pam Bachorz. Egmont USA. September 2009. Reviewed from ARC supplied by publisher.

The Plot:
Candor is the perfect town, filled with perfect people and perfect teens. It's the perfect place to live!

How to achieve that perfection? Oh, it's harmless. Just subliminal messages, fed to you and your teens through music. The music that is always in the background.

Is your son overweight and friendless? Fixable. Your daughter a mean girl who bullies others? Fixable. Your daughter prefers art to science? Fixable.

Oscar Banks is the son of the town's founder. And Oscar knows about the Messages. And has figured out how to fight them. To fight being controlled. And he uses his powers for good -- for a slight price. OK, not so slight. A new teen in town who has their own bank account? For a fee, he helps them fight the Messages and helps them escape Candor. When Nia moves to town, he makes a mistake. He falls in love with her. If she falls under control of the Messages, he loses her; but if she escapes, he loses her.

The Good:
A can't put down read that will you have you turning the pages, anxious to find out what happens next, what happens to Oscar, to Nia.

The Messages create conformity; but it's also about power. The parents here are the ultimate helicopter parents, controlling everything about their child, including what the child thinks. And the child doesn't even know it is happening, because it is all subliminal. Because the parents can also opt into the mind control (what better way to lose weight? achieve success? be the perfect person), the parent may eventually not remember, either. If things don't go well, where, there can be a Message about that. Your family always had just one child, not two.

I love how Bachorz takes on not only helicopter parenting, but other current issues. Food and diet, for example -- no one in town eats ice cream. Ice cream and chocolate are bad! Instead, the Message is "Vegetables make you strong." In this town, it's only G movies and carrots and milk as snack food.

Worried about teen sex? In Candor, hand holding and kissing are risque. "Respectful space in every place."

And as for art...Oscar's father doesn't like art. A waste of time: "Art is a disease. Art is filthy." But before the artistic reader pats themselves on the back, saying "oh yes it is the art haters who do this," step back. Be honest. Oscar's father could just as well have said, "Art is wonderful." It's not about art; it's about parents wanting control, wanting power over their children, taking away the teen's right to make their own decisions. Everytime I hear Angelina Jolie talk about how her adoptive children will return to their birthplaces running charitable organizations and "give back", I think, "but what if Maddox just wants to be a skateboarder? Or Zahara a fashion designer?" Or the hipster parents who proudly say they will raise their kids to be just like them, with the same taste in music, art and fashion. Let kids choose their own futures, not the ones their parents want for them.

Then there is the music. These people are constantly plugged in, getting their Messages. It is actually an "aural addiction." What a twist -- instead of parents grumbling about the constant music, they've created a world where something bad will happen if you don't listen to the music. Of course, it's music all selected and approved of by someone else. While Bachorz has a great playlist of tunes that capture Oscar's and Nia's feelings, I doubt those songs would be allowed in Candor.

Bachorz writes at her website that town in the book was inspired in part by Celebration. I thought the required NEVs were made up by Bachorz; nope, they are real and are used in Celebration.


Links:
Teaser
Twitter Review

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Going Bovine by Libba Bray. Random House. September 2009. Reviewed from ARC supplied by publisher.

Sixteen year old Cameron Smith is just another slacker at his Texas high school. Until he gets diagnosed with Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (aka mad cow disease), starts seeing angels, and ends up on a road trip to DisneyWorld with a dwarf, a yard gnome, and an angel.

That description cannot describe just how fantastic this book is. My full review will go into more detail. Bray has created one of those rare things in books. A character so fully realized, so alive that you know him. He's that real. And his adventures may be wacky and weird, but you believe in them, you believe in Cameron. At 480 pages, this is a book you never want to end. You want to savor the words, the humor, the language, the inventiveness of Bray ("the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl"), the ride; you don't want your time with Cameron to end.

Dig your ARC out from BEA. Put it on your "must get" list for ALA. Add it to your orders for when it gets published in September. Yes, it is that good. I am trying to compare it to something, in part because every plot synopsis I read did not engage me; rather, it was readers I respected saying "OMFG you must read this." Multiple readers. But this came to me this morning. Going Bovine is the heir to Douglas Adams. All those readers (adults and teens) who have adored The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for its mix of humor and seriousness and inventiveness will be reading and reading Going Bovine. Hell, Adams started with killing the population of the Earth and we laughed; so what's wrong with laughing as one teen struggles with mad cow disease?

I want to keep on talking about this... but that will have to wait until closer to publication date!

Teaser: A mini post about a book I've read that won't be published for several months. The full review will be posted closer to the publication date.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic. Publication Date September 2009. Reviewed from ARC from BEA.

What's there to say, really?

Have you read The Hunger Games? You really, really should. For purposes of awards and lists and the like, I can argue that Catching Fire stands alone.

For the potential reader? Read The Hunger Games, knowing you only have to wait a few short months to read the sequel, Catching Fire. It's a wonderful experience for a reader: great plotting, memorable plotting, a unique world. And in all honesty, once you've read the first, you don't need to read a review or recommendation to read the second.

On to the sequel. It delivers! Brings the reader up to speed on what is happening? Check. Ups the action and investment? Check. The main character grows, including becoming more aware of her world? Check.

Oh, you're that one person who hasn't even heard of The Hunger Games? Briefly, future world where 12 Districts pay tribute to the Capital each year; a tribute of two teens, sent to fight to the death. Twenty four enter an arena that is full of death-traps; in addition to surviving and outsmarting the traps and attacks of the manipulated environment, the rule is only one can leave the arena alive. So they also have to fight and kill each other. This is done each year to punish the Districts for a rebellion that occurred over seventy years ago, resulting in the virtual enslavement and poverty of the Districts, while those in the Capital live a life of pleasure and luxury.

Read for 48 Hours Book Challenge.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Hate List by Jennifer Brown. Little Brown. Publication Date September 2009. Reviewed from ARC provided by publisher.

Valerie Leftman was shot during a school shooting moments before the shooter turned the gun on himself.

She may have tried to stop him; instead of a half dozen dead, their could have been more.

Or, since she was his girlfriend and had helped write the "Hate List" he used to target his victims, she may not be so innocent.

Great read; I look forward to doing it more justice after the 48 Hour Book Challenge is done. Time spent reading: 5 hours.


© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy