The Fault in Our Stars
The Book:
The Fault in Our Stars
By John Green
Dutton Juvenile
Published January 10, 2012
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
The Review
After reading all the fantastic reviews of The Fault in Our Stars, John Green’s eagerly anticipated fourth novel, I have been struggling to decide what I could possibly add to all the wonderful insights. First, I have to concur with a great majority of the reviewers: this is not a “cancer book” or is it even necessarily a book about cancer. Certainly Hazel thinks about cancer: her cancer Augustus Waters’s cancer, her friend Isaac’s cancer, and even the protagonist from her favorite (and purely fictional) novel, Anna’s, cancer. But trying to pigeonhole this novel with the label “Cancer Book” is akin to calling a child with cancer a “Cancer Kid” (or even, as Hazel would say, ”An Inspiration to Us All”). The truth is far more complex and thought-provoking than any label would allow.
And complexity is one of the most fabulous things about this novel–mostly because, at first glance, the novel doesn’t appear all that complicated. Hazel’s narration of events is very straightforward, almost no-nonsense, though she still retains a very sharp sense of humor. She states the facts of life as she sees them, no matter if they are pleasant or sad or inconvenient. She is also upfront with her emotions, especially romantic ones regarding Augustus Waters. Readers will no doubt find her candidness a nice change from the usual hemming and hawing plaguing female protagonists in the teen lit scene.
However, Hazel’s forthright manner is not an indication of simplicity of thought. Anyone familiar with Green’s work knows that his characters tend to wax a little philosophical, and Hazel is no exception. Drawing on a very high level of vocabulary and grammar (and a few references to philosophers like Kierkegaard), Hazel confronts readers with some very profound questions about life, death, family, and what it means to interact with a world that soon won’t have you in it.
My only complaint? Every so often Hazel’s thoughts, as brilliant and deep as they are, felt a bit masculine. This may be solely from the fact that I was aware that the author was male, but it was disruptive nonetheless.
The Rating
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The Recommendation
Although written for teens, this book will be appreciated by an adult readership too. Be prepared for nerdy moments and some tears.
Book Cart Drill Teams (and other things librarians like to do in their spare time)
Ever wonder what librarians get up to in their spare time? Well, you need wonder no more. Feast your eyes on these librarians as they get funky with them shelves.
I’m reading a book, man! I’m reading a book!
Who doesn’t get a little grumpy when interrupted while reading a book? We’re just lucky this frustration is now expressed in the form of song.
The Monstrumologist
The Book
The Monstrumologist
By Rick Yancey
Simon & Schuster
Published September 22, 2009
So begins the journal of Will Henry, orphaned assistant to Dr. Pellinore Warthrop, a man with a most unusual specialty: monstrumology, the study of monsters. In his time with the doctor, Will has met many a mysterious late-night visitor, and seen things he never imagined were real. But when a grave robber comes calling in the middle of the night with a gruesome find, he brings with him their most deadly case yet.
Critically acclaimed author Rick Yancey has written a gothic tour de force that explores the darkest heart of man and monster and asks the question: When does a man become the very thing he hunts?
The Review
I know this book wasn’t in my review queue, but since I was having all sorts of shipping troubles trying to get my hands on my signed copy of Green’s The Fault in Our Stars I decided to pick up another book in the interim–and an award honoree no less.
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey was a Printz award honor book back in 2010 and for excellent reason: this book is as fantastic as it is creepy. Told through the journals of a old man looking back on his time as the twelve-year-old assistant of a world-renowned monstrumologoist (for def. see description above), the story follows Will Henry as he and Dr. Pellinore Warthrop set out on a search and destroy mission to rid a quiet 19th century village of murderous man-eating monsters, the Anthropophagi. What on the surface appears to be a straightforward quest, however, quickly becomes a very twisted path as the deepest depths of the doctor’s past are brought to light–and both Will Henry and the doctor begin to doubt the humanity of the person they had trusted most.
I love many things about this book, but the thing that stands out the most is how intricately Yancey draws the characters of Will Henry and the doctor. To say these characters are fully fleshed out is a bit of an understatement. Just as with real people, the characters are full of contradicting motivations and sentiments. The doctor in particular is a struggle to pin down. Determined to be the “modern scientific man” as he father was, the doctor often sacrifices his more human inclinations. He is not affectionate toward Will Henry. He is distant and imposing and often argues with Will Henry as if he were an adult, then becoming frustrated when the twelve-year-old cannot hold his own. Yet for all these flaws, the doctor is a likeable character. It is clear he cares for Will Henry, even if the mode of that love’s expression is unorthodox (he, for instance, tells Will Henry he will shoot him in the head rather than let him suffer an agonizing death at the hands of the Anthropophagi–naturally Will Henry is taken aback at this notion).
The doctor also has strong moral convictions–he is disgusted at the mistreatment of the inmates at the insane asylum–a stark contrast against the charismatic John Kearns, a British gentleman of dubious origin that the doctor brings in to assist with the hunt. Kearns, who prides himself on following the “morality of the moment” (i.e. eat or be eaten), is one of those truly frightening characters in literature because, on the surface, he seems so dashing. He’s confident, well-spoken, and a natural leader. Everyone–the doctor, Will Henry, the constable, the villagers, the readers–wants to follow him. They want to believe he has all the answers. And he does, to an extent. They just aren’t pretty (or ethical) answers.
Which is how Yancey is able to explore deeper themes in the book. Through the eyes of his expertly drawn characters, Yancey plumbs the depths of human character. He confronts young readers with moral dilemmas usually reserved for a college philosophy class. Is it better to sacrifice one for the survival of many? Can a person, or monster, be inherently evil? Or is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so?
The only downsides to the book are:
1. its use of advanced vocabulary and grammar (I know, what a downside…); some younger or less advanced readers may find it less accessible for this reason. And…
2. there are some truly disgusting scenes, most of them involving maggots; if you are prone to nightmares, like myself, please be aware you’ll be dreaming about this book for quite some time.
However, these downsides are extremely minor. Overall, I think it is an excellent book and definitely worth the read.
The Rating
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The Recommendation
A must read! Great language, creepy atmosphere, complex characters, awesome themes. Younger readers may need help along the way, but the challenge is well worth it.
And, if you get done with this book, there are two more in the series: The Curse of the Wendigo (which despite its silly title is supposed to better than the first) and The Isle of Blood. I can’t wait to read these two…I mean, too!
2012 Newberry / Printz Award Winners Announced
Earlier today, the American Library Association officially announced the winners of the 2012 Newberry, Printz, and Caldecott Awards (among others). Here’s a brief summary:
John Newberry Medal
Dead End in Norvelt
By Jack Gantos
Michael L. Printz Award
Where Things Come Back
By John Corey Whaley
Randolph Caldecott Medal
A Ball for Daisy
Written and illustrated by Chris Raschka
Other Awards:
- The Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults went to Susan Cooper (The Dark is Rising series–one of my favorites!)
- The Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults went to Rotters, written by Daniel Kruas and narrated by Kirby Heyborne.
- The William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens went to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.
For a complete list of the awards, winners, and honorees, please visit the ALA Web site.
I Heart Book Art
I love it when books are used in creative ways. I stumbled across this artist, Guy Laramee, and was completely blown away with how he sculpted landscapes into his books. It reminded me of the Mysterious Book Art I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.
Enjoy.
Visit Guy Laramee’s Web site for more awesome book carving–and his other art too!
Librarian determines most popular YA of today
A new article from School Library Journal lays out the most popular series and individual novels on the market today, as determined by Karen McCoy’s survey of 100 public and school libraries (conducted from July to December of 2011). Since I’m such a sucker for all things lists, I thought I’d share her findings here. Those up with YA book scene will recognize some familiar faces, but others may come as a bit of a surprise.
McCoy also attempts to identify the new and upcoming trends in YA fiction, talking specifically of the emergence of “hybrids, or the blurring of the lines between genres,” and “character-driven novels, such as Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall (HarperCollins, 2010).” Like many others, she notes the decreased interest in the vampire-centric novel made popular by the Twilight series.
You can read her entire article here.
Most popular series
1. The Hunger Games (Scholastic) by Suzanne Collins
2. Twilight (Little, Brown) by Stephenie Meyer
3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Hyperion) by Rick Riordan
4. Wolves of Mercy Falls (Scholastic) by Maggie Stiefvater
5. The Maze Runner (Delacorte) by James Dashner
6. The Kane Chronicles (Hyperion) by Rick Riordan
7. Mortal Instruments (S & S) by Cassandra Clare
8. House of Night (St. Martin’s) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams) by Jeff Kinney
10. Heroes of Olympus (Hyperion) by Rick Riordan
11. Matched (Dutton) by Ally Condie
12. Infernal Devices (S & S) by Cassandra Clare
13. Harry Potter (Scholastic) by J. K. Rowling
14. Dark Visions (S & S) by L. J. Smith
15. The Vampire Diaries (HarperTeen) by L. J. Smith
16. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (Delacorte) by Michael Scott
17. The Leviathan Trilogy (S & S) by Scott Westerfeld
18. Conspiracy 365 (Kane/Miller) by Gabrielle Lord
19. Maximum Ride (Little, Brown) by James Patterson
20. Septimus Heap (HarperCollins) by Angie Sage
Most popular titles
1. Along for the Ride (Viking) by Sarah Dessen
2. Thirteen Reasons Why (Penguin) by Jay Asher
3. Burned (St. Martin’s) by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast
4. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Quirk Bks.) by Ransom Riggs
5. Lock and Key (Viking) by Sarah Dessen
6. Crank (S & S) by Ellen Hopkins
7. The Book Thief (Knopf) by Markus Zusak
8. Looking for Alaska (Dutton) by John Green
9. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (Little, Brown) by Stephenie Meyer
10. Monster (HarperCollins) by Walter Dean Myers
11. Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Little, Brown) by Laini Taylor
12. Story of a Girl (Little, Brown) by Sara Zarr
13. Beautiful Creatures (Little, Brown) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
14. Identical (S & S) by Ellen Hopkins
15. Fallout (S & S) by Ellen Hopkins
16. Snitch (S & S) by Allison van Diepen
17. Num8ers (Scholastic) by Rachel Ward
18. After (Viking) by Amy Efaw
19. Legend (Putnam) by Marie Lu
20. L.A. Candy (HarperCollins) by Lauren Conrad
Shipping Errors and John Green reads ‘The Fault in Our Stars’
I am feeling pretty frustrated today, after spending an hour on hold with customer services trying to get my copy of John Green’s new book, The Fault in Our Stars, shipped to me (hurray for unexplained mix-ups). So, in order to cheer myself up, I decided to re-watch these two videos of John Green reading the first two chapters of the book.
For those of you unfamiliar with the premise, here’s a brief synopsis:
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.
John Green is a Printz medal winner, and is best-selling author of the books Looking For Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, and (my personal favorite) Paper Towns.
On to the clips!
The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges
The Book:
The Gathering Storm
By Robin Bridges
Random House
Due out January 10, 2012
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue. An evil presence is growing within Europe’s royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina’s strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar’s standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina’s help to safeguard Russia…and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.
The Review
Back in September, Publisher’s Weekly put out this article which predicted the future fad of young adult literature was historical fiction. Judging by the up rise in novels by big name authors set in past times–Bright Young Things, Anna Godbersen (2010), Clockwork Angel, Cassandra Clare (2010), Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson (2011)–this assessment is proving to be true. Joining the fray is Robin Bridges’ debut novel, The Gathering Storm, which is set in Russia at the turn of the 19th century.
Although this novel features a cast of characters well known to the paranormal romance crowd (vampires, werewolves, undead, oh my!), the real shining star of the story is its exotic historical landscape. Bridges spends much effort conjuring up images of what life was like for the aristocracy of a Russia caught between the advancements of the industrial revolution and the lingering grip of superstition. Through the eyes of the main protagonist, a modern-minded young Duchess named Katerina, readers are whisked through glamorous winter balls, social calls to empresses and tsars, and the complicated maneuverings of a mother intent on having her daughter marry well (à la Jane Austen). And sleighs rides. There are a lot of sleigh rides.
Bridges has obviously done a lot of research in order to make the book historically accurate. I confess I’m no expert, but I do recall from my brief attempt at reading War and Peace (it is on my ereader and I will get to it…eventually) that the Russian aristocracy spoke mainly in French and that whispering of revolution was severely frowned upon–all of which is remarked upon by Bridges. She also spends an ample amount of time name-dropping, which is acceptable in small portions, but feels a bit overdone here.
Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed the historical setting, I found the rest of the book lacking. The plot was okay. Nothing extraordinary or unexpected. The action was glazed over (stating merely that they fought furiously, rather than describing the punches). The pacing at times dragged. And the romance was…well, not very romantic. Katerina and her main love-interest George Alexandrovich had surprisingly few scenes together, and those that they shared were filled more with exposition advancing the plot than building any sort of affection between the two. Perhaps Bridges was trying to channel a Darcy-type character–after all, George was often described as brooding, and Katerina was convinced he detested her–but George was too standoffish for my taste. If not for some traditional hint-dropping by Bridges I would have been just as disbelieving as Katerina when George confessed his feelings. On the bright side, this is the first in a series, so Bridges has ample room for deepening Katerina and George’s relationship.
Finally, one last note on the cover art. The publishers were given an incredible opportunity to come up with an evocative cover; something that captured the romance and glamor of olden time Russia. They settled instead on a generic cover of a girl in a traditional ushanka hat. Disappointed.
The Rating
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The Recommendation
Read it if you like a mix of paranormal and historical fiction. Those who enjoyed the settings of Clare’s Clockwork Angel and Johnson’s Name of the Star will eat up this book.
The Thirteen Hallows, by Michael Scott
The Book:
The Thirteen Hallows
By Michael Scott and Colette Freedman
Tor Books
Published December 6, 2011
The Hallows. Ancient artifacts imbued with a primal and deadly power. But are they protectors of this world, or the keys to its destruction? A gruesome murder in London reveals a sinister plot to uncover a two-thousand-year-old secret. For decades, the Keepers guarded these Hallows, keeping them safe and hidden and apart from each other. But now the Keepers are being brutally murdered, their prizes stolen, the ancient objects bathed in their blood. Now, only a few remain. With her dying breath, one of the Keepers convinces Sarah Miller, a practical stranger, to deliver her Hallow—a broken sword with devastating powers—to her American nephew, Owen…As Sarah and Owen search for the surviving Keepers, they unravel the deadly secret the Keepers were charged to protect. The mystery leads Sarah and Owen on a cat-and-mouse chase through England and Wales, and history itself, as they discover that the sword may be the only thing standing between the world…and a horror beyond imagining.
The Review
All right. Fine. I’ll admit it. I first picked up this book not because of the snazzy jacket art or because I felt like reading a good fantasy book (which I haven’t for a while), but because I was hoping The Thirteen Hallows by Michael Scott was some sort of weird combination of Harry Potter and The Office. It wasn’t, of course. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.
Instead, The Thirteen Hallows reads more like a supped-up supernatural Da Vinci Code. It is rife with psychopathic hit men, gruesome murders, police chases, ritualistic sex, and enormous liberties taken with the Bible. The chapters are extremely short (two pages, on average) and the narration snappy, making the story feel much shorter than its 350 pages. This also lends to its very cinematic quality, jumping from one character’s perspective to another, just like a movie wipe between scenes.
I have to applaud Michael Scott for choosing to make the main protagonist (as much as there is one) a female, sword-swinging do-gooder. You don’t see many of those. Sarah Miller is a strong character, even if she herself is unwilling to admit it. With barely a bat of her eyelash, she takes on bloodthirsty demons and pitiless gangsters, all while keeping two steps ahead of the pursuant police. My only wish is that she could have had all her fight scenes with her clothes on.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. I have to take points off for redundant bad guys (with exception of the Dark Man and his mistress, they all have interchangeable back stories and are, for no apparent reason, homosexual). Points are also lost for overusing the descriptions smells. A random thing, yes, but reading about “a mixture of excrement and stale sweat coupled with the bitter metallic odor of blood” for the twentieth time gets tedious. It just smacks of lack of imagination and ambition. By the end I was wishing the author(s) would fixate on another of the senses–or that the characters would all spontaneously develop head colds.
Finally, this book comes with a warning. If it were a movie, it would be rated R for lots of blood, violence, and sexual encounters. This is a book meant for mature audiences. Reader discretion is advised.
The Rating
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The Recommendation
Read it if you enjoy books like Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, Lehane’s Gone, Baby, Gone, or Preston and Child’s Relic. However, don’t expect as many twists and turns. This one is straight out action/adventure.
Goodreads
