Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye ☆☆

This book was disappointing. The description on the back tells you of an American girl that moves to the Middle East where her dad is originally from so that he can live closer to his family and join the two cultures. The description also alludes to a Romeo/Juliet type of romance that brews between the protagonist and a Jewish boy that she meets. The disappointment develops in that there is no romance in the book at all. Sure, they weren't supposed to be friends and fought to keep their friendship, but that's about as far as it went before the book ended.

Besides all that, the story just wasn't all there. As much as an upsetting change as it would be expected to be for a teenage girl to be uprooted to a new country after her first kiss, she just goes with it. She doesn't show much anger at all, if any. There isn't really any drama that takes place with her directly.

The drama that does take place in this story involves the country itself and the problems that the people in the Middle East are facing at the time of this story. In that aspect, it is an interesting look at a culture we very rarely see in anything but a negative light. This was the last assignment for my Children's Literature class and we came to a conclusion that the only reason that this book was chosen for young students to read is because it is one of the only books about the Middle Eastern culture, rather than for any great story-telling merit.

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales

The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales ☆☆☆

Surprisingly good book. However, by the mid-range star count you can tell I wasn't immediately impressed.

This was another class assignment as we were covering cultural studies through literature. This book delves into the Hispanic culture and how it shapes this girl's life and influences the choices she makes into her future.

My main problem with this book was continuity. At the beginning of the book you learn she is eight years old, but after a few chapters, suddenly her much younger brother is eight. There was never any indication to me or my class that years were passing rather than months. And the book kept hopping like that. By the time she's a teenager, the story slows as it progresses through adulthood and starts to make more sense.

The book is exceptional in tying everything together. Little traditions mentioned through her childhood, quips, family nitpicks, everything comes back throughout the story and nothing is wasted. Even the tequila worm itself makes it's way from the first chapter through the last. Canales also showed a nice perspective of a Hispanic girl that is smart enough to make it into a well-off private school and how she has to learn to be around rich white kids who made it there through money more than brains, all when she is so vastly different. The downside to this perspective though is you start to realize that the story is most likely more creative non-fiction than fiction after reading her bio in the back of the book.

All in all it's worth a read for multicultural studies and does show something new and different.
But if you get confused easily while reading then it may not be the best when it comes to following along in the story when the time periods change without mention.

The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis ☆☆☆☆

Yet another book read as a class assignment. However, this was also a recommendation in the youth section of my local public library. And I can see why.

It follows the story of a young boy and his voice is ever present. He jumps from topic to topic as any kid voicing his direct train of thought would. You end up learning more about his family and the things going on in his life than you would think were necessary.

At first glance, with 1963 and an African-American family you're expecting a wide variety of racial disputes. However, the disputes found in the beginning follow a class and economic status dispute more. He makes friends with two extremely poor boys that my teacher and most of my class believed were white. I assumed otherwise, but there is no real answer to the question.

The racial disputes and real drama aren't until the end of the story. And I just have to say I was in tears. Sure I cry reading quite a few books, but never like this. I was crying so hard I had to put the book down and walk away until I calmed down. And that took a while. This book moved me in ways I hadn't expected it to. It became more than just a class assignment to me and it is a worthy read for anyone even slightly interested in this time period, or in the strong voice of a young 10-year old boy and how his life and mental state warp and change.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Authors That Deserve More Recognition
This is an easy one for me. You want to know my answer?

All of them!

As an aspiring author myself I don't feel like enough writers get the recognition they deserve. A big part of that is also a issue of genres.

Many of us YA bloggers know the effects of being "caught" reading YA in a group of people who deem us as incompetent or childish because of our book choice. Of course with an experience like that there is no doubt to why YA authors don't get the credit they deserve.

I've done a research paper on feminist criticism in writing and found that female authors still don't receive the respect they deserve because the world is still vastly male dominated whether we want to admit it or not. And yet, majority of readers seem to be females. So there is the under-appreciated chick-lit genre for you.

In general I think that genres and the authors within them need more respect, their appeal needs to be expressed, and what better way than book review blogs. It is the bloggers that gain more recognition for deserving authors and I hope that one day when I finally publish that all the bloggers out there will spread my name on their top ten lists.

Happy Tuesday everyone! I went more psychological than straight list this week, but it was something I was more passionate about ;)

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson ☆☆☆☆

So this book was another I read as a class assignment. Obviously, by the title, it takes place in 1793. It revolves around the Yellow Fever epidemic in Philadelphia during 1793. I've never really come across historical fiction until these last two books for class and I have to say that both impressed me. I hadn't read anything about the 18th century except when I was in middle school and it was nice reading about Ben Franklin and George Washington like it just happened yesterday.

This book was exceptional at placing me in the time period letting me truly experience the fear and anxiety that overwhelmed all in the area. The characters were well-written, and the main character, Matilda, had one of the most amazing character developments I have ever seen. It was shown through metaphorical images as well as literal ones. Bravo Anderson!

As historical fiction this book does a much better job of teaching the subject than any text book ever could. It kept me intrigued and I couldn't put the book down (besides the fact that I didn't have time to put it down). I'd love to see what this author can do with modern characters. I think it would be more than worthwhile. The only thing that was awkward was the language barrier. I didn't figure out a "necessary" was an outhouse until I was most of the way through the book, which of course makes it historically accurate, but it was just a sticking point for me. Good review none the less :)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick ☆☆☆☆☆

As a homework assignment for class, I didn't give this book much hope, but as you can see it surpassed expectations with a glorious five star rating from me.

This book falls into the genre of graphic novel, but I have to admit I believe it's better than that. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE comics (yes, I'm that geeky), but in terms of academic graphic novels I haven't been impressed. I have read both Persepolis and Maus for classes and while they were good at getting the story across, I found it difficult to concentrate on every single image. I know, that's contradictory to why graphic novels are now being used in the classroom, kids are supposed to be able to follow it better because their train of thought isn't lost in lines and lines of words. What I love about this book is that it is a perfect balance between pages of literature and pages of images.

The illustrations in this book were captivating and it definitely pulled off the effect of a film. I recently heard this book was going to be made into a film and I think it would be easy since it's already set up that way. Besides the visual aspects of this book, my other favorite part of it is how the book deals with the notion of the unconventional family. The majority of children today are now part of an unconventional family (my son is no exception) and for a book to include this storyline it opens up a dialogue for children to express how they really feel. This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend to anyone and everyone.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new top ten question is posed every week. I encourage you to start your own Top Ten Tuesday list. This week:

Top Ten Bookish Pet Peeves
(all those things that annoy you in a story, with book covers, bookstores, etc)

Oh I can't express just how much I love this topic. As shown by my bio I definitely have a number 1 pet peeve and now I can think about others that really get to me.

1. Bookstore section titles (aka "Teen" rather than "Young Adult")

Look at the variety of book blogs on the internet and you'll discover that women between 20-40 LOVE young adult books. People of all ages really. And when I walk into an aisle labeled "Teen" I feel like I'm out of place and should be embarrassed. It has gotten to the point that I'll refuse to shop at places that label their young adult section as such.

2. Typos.

I don't mind a few. Sometimes it's just unavoidable. J.K. Rowling had her share. I loved that when reading Glass Houses by Rachel Caine I only found one typo in the entire book. Bravo! However, there is one book series that I couldn't forgive and I won't list. There were multiple glaring typos. And sentence structure? Hor-ri-ble! Example: "the glass's shattered surface," no thanks I hate pluralizing inanimate objects, let's try "the shattered surface of the glass" please.

3. Slow and unexciting first half.

There are two books I have read so far that I almost put down until I got to the middle. The first was because the writing was juvenile and hard to follow. An elementary student could have written it better. However, by the middle of the book I was hooked IN the story and stopped caring. The second, is Matched, in which I was stuck in not knowing what was going on until the middle of the book and the drama finally arrived and again I stopped caring about everything else. The whole point of a book is to catch the reader's attention as quickly as possible, that failed, and both are lucky that I have an inability to put down a book even if I have to force myself through it, and even luckier that they eventually won my heart.

4. Too many issues that don't get resolved.

I was in love with a series that I didn't want to put down. That is, until the third book. The first book was cut and dry--introduce drama, resolve it, leave opening for sequel, done. The second book same thing with a reasonable cliff hanger ending as well. Book three? Waiting for the cliff hanger drama to resolve and then another dramatic plot twist is introduce, still waiting for first twist to resolve, third major plot twist introduced, one chapter left in book and first twist is finally resolved, and then it ends. I'm sitting there going "WHAT?!" The fourth book comes out and at that point I didn't even want to read it, but I did. The two remaining plot twists were resolved near the end of that book and another introduced, and a linger of a twist from book two I might add. Book five came out last summer, it's still sitting on my shelf, any wonder why?

5. Picking up where we left off.

Doesn't sound like a bad thing, right? Then let me explain. Most books when you pick up a sequel and you're reading through it, the author reminds you of background info, details from the past books, etc. Now I used to hate this because I was reading a series all at once and didn't need the reminders. And then I came to a point in which a series I was reading didn't have a subsequent book until a year and a half later and I realized that those reminders were pretty awesome because I don't usually re-read something. Then one day I picked up a sequel book to one I had read a year or two before and it started right in the middle of the action where the other one left off. I have NO idea what was going on and realize I have to re-read the first one if I even want to know. Thanks for the waste of time, I have other books to read.

6. Cliff hanger chapters.

I don't necessarily mind cliff hanger endings because then I'm excited about the next book even though I'm impatient as well. However, cliff hangers at the end of chapters? Not so good. I read before bed, only a chapter or two at a time. And then there are books where I reach my two chapter limit and it's a freaking cliff hanger so I start reading the next chapter, and then it happens again and gah next thing I know three hours have passed and I have to get up in only a couple hours. Many times I've been forced to stop in the middle of a chapter, which I hate, just to avoid the cliff hanger and get to sleep.

7. Real people on book covers.

I can't imagine characters the way I want when that happens. And many times the person on the front of the book has absolutely nothing in common with the descriptions in the book. Example: Rachel Caine said that for one of the books from her Morganville series the cover was shown to her including a girl with pink hair, she couldn't argue so for it to make sense she added a scene at the end of the book where the main character wears a pink wig. I would rather have an artistic cover with filigree or such. My favorite cover: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I love the cover for their sequel too.

8. Photoshopped covers that look like an amateur did on the first try.

I totally judge a book by its cover. If the cover looks amateur I imagine the writing is too and I have no need to read it. Even if I see a review or recommendation for the book that is wonderful I will question its integrity.

9. A series that starts in paperback and then suddenly the next one is hardcover.

I like my books to match thank you very much. I began reading the Harry Potter series in paperback because they were cheap and once I was hooked I gave all my paperback copies to a young girl I knew and went out and invested in the hardcovers so that everything would match and look great on my shelf. I have one series in which the first three books were released in paperback, the next two in hardcover, now my shelf is uneven, but I don't feel like going out and buying the paperback versions when they come out almost a year later. Another has similar numbers. And I've seen others that have the first six to eight books in paperback and then suddenly a hardcover.

10. Uneven prices.

When a book comes out I can find it at Walmart for around $3 off the cover price. Yet Barnes & Noble sticks to the cover price like they're afraid of sale stickers. And then they wonder why they're losing business. Even Amazon has much cheaper prices and often even with the shipping they come out cheaper than B&N. Especially with their pre-orders when they refund you the difference if the price drops even more after you already pre-ordered. While I love sale prices, I wish that they'd be more even so I wouldn't have to troll the internet and Walmart for the books I want just so I don't have to sacrifice the extra money and gas for a trip to B&N.

Well I didn't think I'd make it to ten, but look at that I did. This industry is insane. And you know what, I want to add a.....

Runner-up: Kindle/e-books
The price isn't much different than the price for the book itself and you know what it's easier to read from a page than it is for me to read from a screen. I like having a bookshelf to look at everyday instead of a "playlist" of sorts.