Waiting on Wednesday (9): Cara Mia

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, in which we talk about the book we cannot wait to get our hands on.

Mia Disantini is a vampire whose greatest desire is to walk again in the sun. Enslaved by her charismatic master, Ethan and plunged into the ancient, unenlightened Immortyl culture, Mia struggles for the freedom to live as she chooses. Trained as Ethan’s “Bird of Prey”, Mia becomes the pawn of their powerful, enigmatic elder, Brovik, in his deadly games of deception and intrigue concerning the “forbidden science” against his rival, Gaius Lupus. Cast out by Ethan, Mia joins forces with Kurt and together the lovers steal “fire (immortality) from the gods” and deliver it to Genpath Laboratories where they are duped and imprisoned by CEO, Lee Brooks.

Desperate, Mia calls upon the aid of Dr. Joe Ansari. But Mia and Kurt are hunted for their crime and time is running out. Will Mia and Kurt escape with their lives and succeed in their mission before their Immortyl enemies harness the power of immortality for evil purposes?

Coming in January 2010! You can read my interview with author Denise Verrico here.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:Debate Club.Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Not when she knows she’s smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.

This is the story of how she got that way.

WHAT A BOOK. It is officially one of the top 5 books I've read in 2009. I wish this book had existed when I was Frankie's age. I could have gotten in less and more trouble simultaneously.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart is a story that asks why people do what they do, and what drives them to do it.

Frankie is a smart, ambitious girl who becomes a "criminal" mastermind because she longs to be accepted into the all male secret society of The Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds at her boarding school. Her journey is exhilarating but tough. Frankie spent the summer previous to the story learning about feminism from her big sister, and she finds it to be a great tool in discovering who she is, who she wants to be, and how she does not want to be treated by her boyfriend, one of the most popular (and powerful) guys in school.

My only sadness when it comes to this story is the way Frankie is treated by some people after her mal-doings are discovered. Initial unpleasant reactions are expected, but I lose hope seeing how some of her friends hold grudges against when they I'm sure they would not do so if she were a guy. Then again, if it had all ended up happily ever after, it would not have been as great of a story as it is.

This is the second boarding school novel I've ever liked. (The first was Looking for Alaska.) I can't stand rich kid novels because I want to vomit whenever I read passages about how fortunate someone is to be able to use mommy's credit card to a buy a $900 dollar piece of clothing they'll just spill alcohol on in ten hours.

The Disreputable History talked about rich kids, but it focused on the differences between people on levels far deeper than the size of their bank accounts. Frankie is a Jewish girl going to a Christian school, and as the narrator tells us, members of the "tribe" are in hiding at the school. I don't think Frankie's Christian boyfriend ever realizes she is Jewish, which touches on a big theme about what it means to be a part of someone's life. The two things I really took away from this story are that people, at any point in their lives, are not as different as they think they are, and being controlled by someone or something is never better than being happy on your own.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks will leave you thinking about the story and characters long after you turn the final page.

My Secret Santa: Book Blogger Holiday Swap

My secret Santa, an unnamed individual in Tucson, Arizona, sent me Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire, a cute lizard bookmark, and a card designed by one of my favorite artists, Masha D'yans! The card is hanging on my wall and I can't wait to get to the book. I love reading histories, especially about women ahead of their time.

Thank you, secret Santa!

Disclaimer: The cat in the background was not a gift from my secret Santa. He is, indeed, Basement Cat, keeping an eye on me to make sure I'm being good.

2010 Reading Challenges

I'm going Reading Challenge crazy so I've decided to put all of the challenges I'm participating in into one post.

When: April 2009 through March 2010

Goal: To read books starring characters found in or inspired by Arthurian legends. (King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Lady of the Lake, etc.) There are no set amount of books. Read one or two. Or read a dozen. You set the amount that feels good to you!

I plan to read 3 to 6 Arthurian Books.

Your mission: Read one book from each of the categories of History & Astronomers, Cosmology & Astrophysics, and Sci-Fi, and complete the two "extra-vehicular activities" described below.

EVA 1: Do some stargazing with a field guide and blog about it

EVA 2: Visit your local planetarium or observatory and blog about it also.

The Global Challenge is hosted at 2010 Global Challenge.

The Easy Challenge
Read one novel from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America

From your own continent: try to find a country, state or author that is new to you.

The Medium Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America

Try to find novels from twelve different countries or states.

The Expert Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America
Add two novels which are set in Antarctica.

Select novels from fourteen different countries or states.

My Level: The Easy Challenge

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Rules and guidelines:

• The challenge starts on January 1st 2010 and ends on December 31st (but we don't mind you starting early.)
• You don't have to make a list beforehand (but you can, of course! Lists are great because they give ideas to people who aren't sure what to read. And if you do make one, don't feel forced to stick to it!)
• We simplified the levels of participation: you can be aBeginner (3 Comics or Graphic Novels), Intermediate(3-10) or an Expert (10+). You're more than free to adjust your level of participation after the challenge has begun.
• There will be mini-challenges! Look for a post with more info on that soon.
• Overlaps with other challenges are totally fine.

My Level: Expert

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

More spots to come perhaps...

There are four levels:

• Inquisitive – Read 3 Speculative Fiction novels.

• Enthusiastic – Read 6 Speculative Fiction novels.

• Addicted – Read 12 Speculative Fiction novels.

• Obsessed – Read 24 Speculative Fiction novels.

My level: Obsessed

1. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

2. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

3. Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

4. Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

5. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire

6. The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

7. Chimeric Machines by Lucy A. Snyder

8. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

9. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2010.

There are four levels:

--The Mini YA Reading Challenge – Read 12 Young Adult novels.

--Just My Size YA Reading Challenge – Read 25 Young Adult novels.

--Stepping It Up YA Reading Challenge – Read 50 Young Adult novels.

--Super Size Me YA Reading Challenge – Read 75 Young Adult novels.

My Level: Just My Size

1. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

2. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding

3. Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

4. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

5. Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony

6. Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

7. The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

8. Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl."

This is the first book I read for my TA position in Childhood's Books next semester. The theme of the class will be Rebellion. I read Stargirl with that theme in mind.

I think this book is about how people want to be a part of something. We want to be a part of someone's life and we want to be a part of something big. When Stargirl comes to school with her ukelele and a pet rat in her purse, the student body wants to know her. The only person who doesn't want to like her or be liked by her is Hilari, who is presented as a sort of villain in the story.

Hilari's story was especially interesting to me since she was a non-conformist in her own way. She refused to give into the spell of hippy love Stargirl had put everyone under, but in the end, sadly, I think she was only happy if things were her way.

Spinelli does a flawless job of bringing us into the head of the narrator, Leo. He is at once transfixed and annoyed with Stargirl, and he spends the novel discovering himself and the ugly truth behind pretending to be someone you're not.

It didn't seem like Stargirl was rebelling at first so much as she was just being herself. She didn't seem to know she was rebelling until she tried to be who people wanted her to be and she made the same discovery as Leo.

Stargirl, the book and the character, shows how not falling in line with how you're expected to act can change you and everyone around you. I recommend Stargirl to anyone who wants to feel themselves soar while reading a beautifully constructed story with some unforgettable characters and a knockout ending.

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme, hosted by The Story Siren, in which bloggers explore the contents of their mailbox.

This week I'm lucky enough to have ARCs of Fallen by Lauren Kate and The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (including a bottle of The Dark Divine nail polish that had such a tight cap I had to get my father to open it for me.)

Fallen:

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Thank you, Random Buzzers!

The Dark Divine:

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared--the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood--but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.

The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude's high school. Despite promising Jude she'll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel's shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.

The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind the boy's dark secret...and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it--her soul.

Thank you, Egmont USA!

I'm painting my toes purple and starting The Dark Divine tonight.

When Fandom Goes Too Far

A classmate of mine told a story yesterday about Twilight fans who work at a hospital. So, not the typical teenage girl Twihards. These Twilight fans are middle-aged women who are registered nurses working at Some Hospital in Sometown, USA, and because they are fans of Twilight, they refer to their good looking male patients as "sparkly boys." As in, "Did you see the new sparkly boy in room 512?" and "I'm giving a sparkly boy an enema at 2:30."

Cougars, ladies and gentlemen. Cougars. I know hospitals are depressing places so the people working there must find relief however they can. But do sick people want to be called "sparkly boys"? Maybe it could give someone a boost of confidence if they knew about it. Anyway, it's harmless and funny, but so weird that a group of middled aged nurses have a code phrase based on Twilight for good looking guys!

What do you think? Do you have any stories about fandom going too far?

My Beef With Censorship

Michelle Zink, author of Prophecy of the Sisters, recently wrote about the censoring of a speech author Ellen Hopkins was supposed to make at a middle school in Norman, OK a few months ago.

This occurred back in September in Norman, OK. and more recently in Leroy, NY. In the case of Norman, Ellen had what I thought was a reasonable suggestion in response to one parent’s concern; allow the kids and their parents to opt out of the presentation if they so chose. But that wasn’t good enough, this parent replied.
“I don’t want ANY of the kids to hear Ellen speak.”
I’m sorry, but WTF? I’m not saying each parent doesn’t have a right to choose for THEIR child. I’m saying I have a problem with someone ELSE’S parent choosing for my child. And while there are those who think it makes sense, i.e. “We don’t want our kids exposed to the realities of the world until later,” (more on that further down), what if it were a group of parents forcing you to listen a presentation on White Supremacy? Holocaust denial?
...
In books like Crank, Glass, Impulse, and Tricks, Ellen writes about controversial subjects. Depression. Suicide. Drug abuse. Teen prostitution. I get that this makes some people uncomfortable. But do they think by ignoring it, you guys won’t be exposed to it? Are we REALLY at a place where we’re going to blackball a book (as one reviewer did after admitted to “skimming” Ellen’s book – I guess we’re past the days of actually reading a book before reviewing it) because of how many times it uses the word “fuck”?
Seriously?
Have these people ever ridden a middle- or high-school bus? Do they think you haven’t heard the word “fuck” – DON’T hear the word “fuck” on a daily basis? It’s just a word people. Don’t give it more power than it really has.

I love Michelle's post and the fact that she addresses teen readers directly. After reading this post, it's obvious to me that Michelle is someone who understands that teenagers are people. They aren't some other breed of human beings. They're smart, they can discern right from wrong, and they sure as hell aren't going to become drug addicts after reading a book with drug content, especially when the book is SPEAKING OUT against these things.

This past Wednesday evening wrapped up a course I took this semester called Childhood's Books. Refrains during classes included "I don't think kids would understand this" and "I wouldn't want to give this to my child because it has so much swearing in it."

The latter quote stood out during our discussion of Feed by M.T. Anderson. One woman was concerned that if she let her daughter read the book, her daughter would want to start cursing and ask her why the teenage characters in the book were allowed to curse when she wasn't. I was shocked by such a comment since cursing had little to do with what Feed is about.

For those who haven't read the book, Feed is set in a dystopian future where about 73% of the population of the United States has the Feednet implanted in their brains. Basically, they have TV and the internet in front of them at all times, and it is telling them constantly what to buy and what to wear and how to look. Drugs come in the form of viruses that people download to go into "malfunction." As a result, people are idiots. Most people can't read or write. Kids go to school to learn how to use the Feed because everyone can just look up information like, as the narrator tell us, "battles George Washington fought in during the Civil War." Vocabularies have been reduced so that people barely know how to express themselves until the Feed suggests words for them to use. It's a story about how technology and consumerism are getting in the way of communication between people. The Feed makes us obedient and blind to what is relevant in the world. Yet someone was worried about the word "fuck" being used.

As Michelle points out in her post, some parents don't want to expose their children to the realities of the world until "later." I'm not sure when later is, but it is probably that magical age of 18. The age in the US when you are automatically old enough to curse, smoke, and fuck (gasp) as much as you like. Where do people get the idea that their kids aren't exposed to the realities of the world in school or at the mall or wherever they hang out every day of their lives?

All of this deserves a longer post or series of posts I plan to write later, so for now I'll say this: Young people can figure out what to take away from a story by themselves. They aren't magically mature enough to experience the "real world" at 18. The truth is they've been experiencing the real world their entire lives. If they make mistakes, it isn't because they've been corrupted, it is because their parents or the school board or some adult who doesn't look at them as human beings is censoring them from discovering the mistakes they could make and the choices they have.

Book Blogger Holiday Swap: The Book Lady's Blog

Rebecca at The Book Lady's Blog received the gift I sent her for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap and made a post about it that has people laughing. You should check out the post, and check out the blog because Rebecca writes great reviews that have increased my TBR pile by leaps and bounds.

My Secret Santa's gift has not arrived yet, but I am waiting patiently. Patiently = I am running around buying gifts for friends and family, and working on finals, so I have no time to think about when my BBHS gift will arrive.

Musical Book Covers (2)

Welcome to Musical Book Covers, my feature in which I talk about why a book cover reminds me of a certain song. I listen to music every day for 5 hours or more so I often associate pictures with songs and vice versa.

The Book

The Song I'm Reminded Of

Every Evanescence song ever.

Why does the cover remind of this song?

Look at the girl with black hair and blue shadows with white writing on the cover of Fallen. Wait, which Fallen? The book or the Evanescence album THAT IS CALLED Fallen? Whoever designed the cover for the novel was obviously an angsty 16 year old in 2003.

Does the song reflect the story?

How can falling in love with a fallen angel not remind us of classic lines such as "don't try to fix me I'm not broken, hellooooooooooooo."

Will I listen to this song while I read the book?

If I can stop laughing long enough to comprehend what I'm reading.

Tu Publishing: YA SFF Multicultural Literature

Tu Publishing is a soon-to-be publisher of multicultural fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults. A lack of multicultural characters are seen among books for kids and fantasy/sci-fi are two genres that tend to reinforce stereotypes, sadly. I say "soon-to-be" because Tu Publishing won't be able to open for business unless it reaches its funding goal of $10,000 by December 14. That's less than ten days away and the amount of donations is only at $3,581. If you can donate even $5, it will be a big help. If the goal is reached, you will even get cool stuff based on your donation amount. That means bookmarks, coupons, and ARCs!

Here is there mission statement:

Fantasy and science fiction, mystery and historical fiction–these genres draw in readers like no other. Yet it is in these genres that readers of color might feel most like an outsider, given that such a large percentage features white characters (when they feature human characters). It is the goal of Tu Publishing to publish genre books for children and young adults that fills this gap in the market–and more importantly, this gap in serving our readers. By focusing on multicultural settings and characters in fantastic stories, we also open up worlds to all readers.

The word “tu” means “you” in many languages, and in Ainu (the language of Japan’s native people), it means “many.” Tu Publishing is dedicated to publishing fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction for children and young adults inspired by many cultures from around the world, to reach the “you” in each reader.

Kids who love to read do better in school. One way to encourage that love of reading is to provide stories that readers can identify with. By increasing the number of books that feature multicultural characters and settings, we can influence the multicultural world of tomorrow.

Books can be both a mirror and a window to other worlds for readers. Tu Publishing hopes that by publishing books that feature multicultural characters and settings and books with worlds inspired by all the many non-Western cultures in the world, we might shine a mirror on you and open a window to many.

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

It is the year 2194 in Harare, Zimbabwe. When the three over-protected children of General Amadeus Matsika are kidnapped, they learn that their country is a land of contrasts. Wealthy people live in homes staffed by robots and protected by automatic dobermans, while the poor live in a neighborhood known as The Cow's Guts, mining for plastic within the tunnels of Dead Man's Vlei (a toxic waste dump). Resthaven is an enclave for people who cling to the ancient traditions, beliefs, and customs of the Shona tribe, but the nearby MacIlwaine Hotel is a mile-high vertical city of apartments, schools, clinics, and supermarkets. As the children journey from one predicament to another, three unlikely detectives from an agency known as The Ear, the Eye and the Arm attempt to rescue them.

First of all, what is that monkey doing on the cover? I think it's...it's getting crunk.

I've been looking forward to reading this book for a long time, and it turned out to be a let down. What I thought was going to be an amazing book about culture, class, gender, and family turned out to be a cartoonish string of stereotypes. A woman in the year 2194 named Beauty who is defined almost exclusively by her role as a mother, really? A girl who is constantly put down, even by her brother who is supposed to be the hero, because she dares to speak out against injustice? The two story lines became very predictable as the kids met with a new calamity in each chapter and Ear, Eye, and Arm were always one step behind them.

One thing I will give to this novel is that while the father had all of Zimbabwe's army backing him up to find his children, the

day was only saved when the three children and the three detectives used their minds. I also can't deny how impressed I was that a man ends up having the greatest instinct to take care of a baby in mortal danger.

3/5 wingspreads