Merry Wanderer of the Night:
re-read

Today is "mini"-review day. (My version of mini, anyway: P) I'm combining these two books, not because the books themselves have anything in common, but because neither of them ended up being the book that I thought they would be, neither were books that I liked (too disappointing), and both had elements to them that seriously pissed me off.

The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter had a lot of potential. There was a lot to the story that I liked. I actually really loved reading about where the title came from, kind of the idea that you can't dwell on the past, can't try to go back to what it was, because your perception of the past is always changing and because you are always changing, you aren't going to be effected in the same way again.

But overall, this book was one big disappointment after another. Lainey has an awesome boyfriend who loves her and wants to start talking about marriage and starting a family, but she isn't ready for that. Which is fine. But instead of really talking to him about it, explaining how she feels, she pretty much ignores him, sorta maybe hooks up with a new guy and never actually breaks things off with old boyfriend. Not cool. If you are unhappy in a relationship, work it out or break it off. Don't start a new one without finishing off the old.

But what made me madder than anything else was the way that Lainey and her estranged older sister, Valerie treat her younger brother, five year old Colin who has an unspecified mental illness. Lainey's mom committed suicide after her husband's death leaving Lainey and Valerie to care for Colin, a boy she had taken in as a foster child and decided to adopt. I get that the sisters are pretty young (Lainey is 18, Valerie a few years older), especially to now be responsible for a 5 year old with mental health problems BUT that does not excuse the way they treated him, or the way the mom treated him. They are very harsh, often yelling and screaming at him for things he can't really control. And it's just did NOT sit well with me. I have a hard time enjoying a book when I am so angry about the treatment of a character. I know it wasn't the focal point of the story — Lainey's growth as a person is, but it was handled so abominably that I just couldn't really enjoy the book.

I never really connected with this one. It felt gimmicky and forced. There were things added that felt like drama-increasers, things that didn't really have a point or purpose other than to (blatantly) push the plot a certain direction, or give Lainey something else to dwell on. And, pretty much every character was super annoying, whether I liked them or not. I wouldn't want to ever meet any of these guys in real life. It was an overall fine book, just one that didn't really work for me.

Future Imperfect by K. Ryer Breese however was worse. Much much worse. I don't think I have a single positive thing to say about this book, so I shall try to make my review brief.

Every single character in this book was trashy, crazy and strung out throughout most of the book. The only semi normal character is Ade's best friend Paige, but she isn't given a lot of face time and she is an enabler. I couldn't connect with anything or anyone in this book and I didn't care about any of them. Not a single character evoked any emotion within me other than disgust.

The supernatural elements were almost believable, until Ade's new 'girlfriend' shows up. Ade can see the future when he gives himself a concussion, and that glimpse of the future becomes a high for him, so he does increasingly dangerous and stupid things to maintain it. I'm honestly surprised he isn't dead. His friends just tsk-tsk at him and his mom has decided he's pretty much the freaking Messiah. And then? AND THEN?! When the girl he's been seeing in visions for years shows up, the girl he knows he is meant to be with, things just get weirder. Turns out she can see the past. But you'll never guess what she has to do to gain her high... Gag.

The writing was decent, nothing amazing, but not terrible but the dialogue was awkward. It was a creepy book, and not in that — *shudder* hide under the covers with a flashlight creepy, but that — nasty old man who stares at you with his hands in his pocket until you rush around the corner kind of creepy. (vomit in the mouth).

Most books, even ones I didn't particularly care for, I can see the appeal or recognize that there are people who will enjoy it. But this one? This is one that I would not recommend to anyone. So if I were you, I'd just give this one a pass.

Banned Books Week is coming up soon, and I decided that it would be fun/awesome to have some Memory Monday posts about banned books that I remember reading and loving as a kid.

When I was younger (early elementary school) my older sister (2 1/2 years older) belonged to a book club at her school. That was the most grown up think I could think of at the time (other than real grown up stuff, like jobs and houses and all that stuff) and I was in awe. This also meant that I stole the books she brought home behind her back, because she hated that I would steal borrow them. (I only wanted to be like her...)

Anyway, one of the books she brought home was Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate. Now, I'm not sure if any of you have read it. And what you think of it is largely going to depend on personal preferences, age you read it etc. But I love that book. Like, a lot. I don't even really like paranormal (partly because it all feels incredibly the same to me) but this was my very first werewolf story. Ever. And wow. Was it different from what I had previously read.
I've always been an advanced reader. Always. English and language comprehension have always been my highest standardized test scores and I'm really good at contextually figuring out what is happening when I need to. So I understood everything that was going on in this book. And honestly, looking back I'm not sure if that's really a good thing... But that's a whole 'nother story.
As a whole, this book has nothing terribly inappropriate in it for a teenager. But — I read Blood and Chocolate when I was 10, maybe 11. And the content is a little mature for an 11 year old. It's an book geared toward older teens, but I didn't care, because I felt so grown up reading it. I was a little bit scandalized by the many innuendos I came across, especially the few that I was old/mature enough to know were supposed to be, but still too young/inexperienced to fully grasp what they meant.
I've reread this book more than once since then, and I still kind of love it. The story of Vivian is one that can really resonate with a lot of teens, because although none of us are werewolves falling in love with human boys, most teenagers feel like they don't belong in their own skins, in their own lives and that's hard. Vivian simply had a specific and physical difference that she had to live with, so it's easier to see.

I do understand why parents might have a hard time with this one — There are a lot of sexual references (some more on the inappropriate side) as well as quite a bit of swearing, teenage dropouts, crass dialogue etc. But, it's also the story of a bunch of teenage werewolves who sometimes, believe they are better than/above normal humans because they are stronger. But it's also a book that teaches us a lot about what it means to be human and how important personal choices are (both themes that are explored in her vampire novel, The Silver Kiss, which I also love probably even more than this one). It's not a book that's going to be for everyone, but it's definitely one that I'm glad I read, even if I should have waited on it until I was a little older.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon is actually a reread for me. And it was just as good, if not better than the first.

It's a book about Christopher, a young boy trying to figure out life. Although I don't think the book ever directly specifies his disorder, Christopher falls somewhere on the high functioning side of the Autism Spectrum. He doesn't relate well to people, has a really hard time understanding facial expressions beyond happy and sad, does not do well with change or being touched, and is highly intelligent, especially proficient in math and science.

Watching the world through Christopher's eyes is so incredibly interesting, as is listening to his inner commentary. He is very matter of fact, likes dealing in absolute truths and doesn't understand emotion. When most people think of love, more than anything else, it's a feeling. It's nearly impossible to define, because everyone experiences it differently, and there are so many different kinds of love. But for Christopher, love is a very specific thing. For him, "loving someone is helping them when they get into trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth... " (pg 87)

Christopher's voice throughout the book is very unique. I've never read another book like it. Christopher does not like lies and he always tells the truth. Lies are just too complicated. He also doesn't understand social norms or nuances, which means we get some very interesting commentary, and Christopher points out many things that people would normally never say aloud. It's a book that made me chuckle to myself more than once. I feel a little bad laughing at it, because Christopher is not trying to be funny. But his deadpan delivery is just... funny. It's a little like watching someone fall down. You feel terrible because your impulse is to laugh, but there is just nothing you can do to stop it... It's awkwardly funny.

As a book in general, the story itself is not really that awesome. What makes the book worth reading is Christopher. He is the one writing the book, as an assignment for class, and he decides to write about something true, because he doesn't like lies. When he discovers his neighbor's dog dead in her yard, he decides to write a mystery and try to figure out who killed Wellington. He wants to write a mystery because it's the only kind of fiction he likes to read (fiction feels too much like lying).

Christopher lives with his dad, because his mom died a few years ago and his dad tries really hard to be what Christopher needs, to be able to help him and give him the best care and attention possible. It's obvious, that although he does make mistakes (some really big ones, actually) that he really and genuinely does care about his son. That kind of love, even if Christopher doesn't really get it, is strong and there are moments in the book where you can very nearly touch it.

There might be some inaccuracies here, in Haddon's portrayal of an autistic boy. I am not well enough studied to be able to tell you if it is perfectly accurate or not, although it does follow what I understand of the disorder. So, don't go using this as a way of saying — Yes. I now know all there is to know about life with autism. But do use it as a way to learn a little more about your world, and to learn a little bit about what it might be like to be living in a world not meant for people who think like you. It would be a challenge, every single day. So remember that. Take that into consideration. And maybe use this book as a reason to start paying more attention to your surroundings, to the people around you. Use it as a way to realize that there are different ways to view the world, different ways to see, but that doesn't make them right or wrong, just different.

This is a book that I highly, highly recommend. To pretty much everyone. There are things in this book that I think everyone could stand to learn, could benefit from taking a look at. So why don't you give it a try. It just might expand the way you view your world. And really, that's a good thing.

I know I mentioned in a previous Memory Monday (click to read) about how much I loved Mary Higgins Clark while growing up. My mom handed me my first MHC the summer after 6th grade and I was hooked. But, there were only so many MHC books and I soon finished her back list. By 9th grade I had read everything she'd written, but was still desperate for some more awesome murder mysteries.

My mom suggested I try Agatha Christie. It makes sense, right?! I'm pretty sure she's like, the mother of all murder mysteries. My school library had two shelves just for her, so I decided to just go pull a random book off the shelf. I don't remember the title of the book, but I remember being disgusted. Her main character, Hercule Pointe (?) spent the beginning of the book complaining about the dentist. That was certainly not what I had been looking for. I was horrified and upset. Who wanted to read about a grown man complain about the dentist! I was about ready to give up on Ms. Christie when I found And Then There Were None.

I don't remember if it had been a recommendation or just a lucky grab but I read through that book in horrified fascination. 10 people are sent to a mysterious island where their host never shows up and a record begins to play, informing everyone that they had been invited to the island because they had committed a murder and gotten away with it. Justice had finally caught up with them and they had been invited to die.

They start to die, one by one and the ceramic Indian figurines being to disappear at the same rate. Not only that, but there is a poem — Ten Little Indians- and each death follows a line in the poem (stung by a bee= death by hypodermic needle etc). Everyone is scared, trying to figure out who the murderer could possibly be. And they know it has to be one of the ten. They have searched the entire island and there is no one else there. And, they are in the middle of an incredibly violent storm and there is absolutely no way to or from the island until the storm blows out.

I can remember being beyond fascinated as I read this book, but waiting, waiting for the next death, the next clue, so that I could figure out who done it. But I couldn't. There were a few times I thought I had it figured out, but then that character would die, or would be talking to another character when someone else was murdered.

I reread this one again a few years ago, and I loved it. I loved being able to watch the character interactions knowing the ending, knowing who was really behind the murders and being able to pick up on a bunch of clues I had missed the first time around.

I tell you what — this is a phenomenal book. If more of The Agatha's books are like this, it's easy to understand why she's still recognized as one of the greatest suspense writers.

Welcome to another Award Winning Wednesday! This is the third Wednesday of the challenge, and as I was deciding which book to talk about today, I realized that both previous Wednesday's spotlighted books on the Printz list. So, today's book is a Newbery, one that I think more people need to read.

Don't forget to use the linky below to link up your Award Winning Reviews!! Can't wait to see what everyone has been reading!

Rules by Cynthia Lord was awarded a Newbery Honor in 2007. It's the story of Catherine, a 12 year old girl trying to understand her place in the world alongside her younger brother David, who has autism. She loves her brother, but sometimes, she wishes that things were easier, that somehow, David would wake up one day normal.

I don't even know how to begin talking about this book. It's the type of book that defies description, needing instead to simply be placed in as many hands as possible, to be read by everyone within reach. I've been struggling with what to say here, so bear with me.

Life with autism is incredibly hard. It is a challenge every single day, both for those with autism and for those around them, especially those who love and want to help them. Catherine faces this every day. She loves her brother. You can feel it in the way she talks to him, feel it in every interaction. But she is also only 12 years old. Her parents give her a lot of responsibility, ask her to babysit her brother, keep an eye on him, and to offer him any help he needs. But sometimes, Catherine just wants to feel normal. She wants to be able to go places without worrying about what David will do or say. It's hard for her. Her parents pay more attention to David, because he needs them more, and while she understands this, knows that this is true, she often feels left behind, as if her parents have forgotten that she still needs them too.

Life with David is challenging, and Catherine is quite inventive in how she communicates with him. David deals best in absolutes. Words like maybe or I don't know stress him out and make him uncomfortable. To help him (and herself) Catherine creates rules for David to follow. Each chapter begins with a rule, and more are given throughout chapters. The rules vary from basic and easy to understand, like 'Chew with your mouth closed' and 'No toys in the fish tank', to others that are more ambiguous like, 'Late doesn't mean not coming', or 'Sometimes people laugh when they like you, but sometimes people laugh to hurt you'.

One of the things Catherine struggles with is the idea that everyone is watching her and David, focusing on the awkward things David does. She's 12, which is an age where you are now becoming more socially aware, more aware of what people think and how they view you. While she isn't ashamed of her brother, she is often embarrassed by him and she can't help wishing that he could be different, that he could be normal. But she tries. She genuinely loves David and she does all she can to make things easier for him. Sometimes, it's hard for her to know what's right, but she does love him.

That is one of the biggest lessons that Catherine needs to learn in this book. That it doesn't matter what other people think, how other people see you. She meets a new boy when she goes with her mom to take David to Occupational Therapy (OT). Jason is in a wheelchair. He cannot speak, so he uses a communication book to talk for him. He points to words he wants and hopes the words he has are enough. Catherine is an artist and she offers to make new cards for him, and in so doing she widens his vocabulary considerably, adding words a mom would never add, like Stinks a big one!! and Whatever, but she also learns a lot about herself. Some of the things she learns make her feel good, but others, make her feel guilty and ashamed of her behavior. And she learns from it. She desperately wants to be a good person, be a good sister and friend and she's slowly learning how to do that and what is really important in life and in friendship.

This book is fairly short, only 200 pages, and it's a fast read. But don't let that fool you. This book is one that is deceptive in its simplicity. You will learn so much about yourself while reading this book. It makes you think about how you treat people, how you would react in a similar situation. One of the things Catherine talks about hating more than anything else are the people who make a point to ignore those with disabilities. Worse than those who stare are the people who make you invisible. Or, like Jason's speech therapist. She talks VERY LOUDLY every time she speaks to him. It frustrates him, and as he tells Catherine, I can't talk, but I can hear just fine.

Watching Catherine learn to be herself, and learn to not care so much what other people see is amazing. There are so many changes happening all the time for kids at this age, and Catherine has more on her plate than a lot of kids. But she handles it well most of the time, and she learns from her mistakes when she doesn't.

This book is honest in it's portrayal of Autism and in how different people respond to it. It's a book that I think more people need to read, a book that, if read with a mind open to new ideas and change, will improve the reader, just as it improved Catherine.

Don't forget to link up! Leave me a comment, let me know how your challenge is going! And I'd love to hear from anyone who has read Rules! Tell me what you think!!

I am having a hard time believing I've been writing up Memory Monday posts since last year but have yet to share my love for Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking, more commonly known as Pippi.

I remember my mom handing me her childhood copies of Pippi Longstocking and Pippi in the South Seas. She didn't give me much of an intro to the books, just told me that they were books she had read and loved as a kid, and she thought I might like them. So I read them. And I devoured them. I love them, and I read these two books over and over again. In fact, I read them so many times that the covers fell off, and then the pages started coming apart.

You see, for me, reading about Pippi's adventures wasn't just about reading the adventures of some slightly crazy girl in a book. Oh no. Pippi's adventures went much farther than that for me. You see, I wanted to be Pippi. I wanted that more than I think I had ever wanted anything before.

I wanted to be cool enough to live on my own, strong enough to carry my horse up and down the porch steps, interesting enough to have a pet monkey, and confident enough to dance around my classroom singing about plutification. (Alas, I've always cared way too much about what my teachers thought of me to be any where near that disruptive.) Oh ya, and it definitely didn't hurt that Pippi is rich as Midas either. She inherited a trunk full of gold along with her Villa from her father, whom she is convince is now king of the canibals after being swept out to sea, and she's very free with her money. She's also brilliant, being able to outsmart any adult and is wholly unconcerned with what other people think of her. She is her own person, and she is perfectly happy to be exactly who she is.

Who wouldn't want to be Pippi? She's strong, in ways that go beyond just her astounding physical strength, loyal, loving, and ridiculously funny. I'm pretty sure I even tried to sleep with my feet on my pillow, and my head down below once. And let me tell you — it is not comfortable. Poor Pippi.

I tried re-reading these books a few years ago. I purchased a set of three Pippi books — Pippi Longstocking, Pippi Goes on Board, and Pippi in the South Seas, and I wanted to revisit that old delight I had felt when reading about Pippi's adventures. I'd never run into a problem with a re-read before, and I was looking forward to revisiting Pippi in all her wackiness. It about broke my heart when I started to realize that it just wasn't the same reading these books as an adult. I've since (mostly) blocked out that reading experience, so I can instead focus my memories on my old copies and how I loved them, literally, to pieces. But, that tiny part that I allow to remember I did re-read these weeps a little when I think of it.

Pippi was such a huge part of my childhood, and I refuse to forget her. I refuse to allow her to fade into the background and you had better believe I will be putting copies of this book in the hands of any daughters I have. (Sons too). It is a book meant to be read, loved, and cherished by youth and I shall do everything in my power to make sure the kids in my life love Pippi as much as I do.

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt is one of the most unique and beautiful stories I have ever read. While not a direct fairy tale retelling, falling more into the category of fairy tale-esque, the book reads like a fairy tale, and elements from different tales and lore find their way into Keturah's story.

Keturah is the storyteller in her small village. She tells tales around the common fire each night, enthralling the townsfolk. There is a hart that haunts the forests around the town, a hart which the Lord of the realm, a renowned hunter himself, has long hunted, but never captured. This hart often finds its way into Keturah's tales, and it is ultimately what leads Keturah into trouble. She sees the hart watching her from the woods one evening and decides to follow it, just a little ways into the wood. As is often in the case with seemingly enchanted harts, Keturah finds herself following the hart deeper and deeper into the wood, unable to stop. When she finally regains her senses, she realizes that she is hopelessly lost in the forest.

After three days of being lost in the woods, Keturah is out of strength, and knows she is going to die. Sure enough, Death comes for her. She is surprised by him, because he appears as a handsome and aloof Lord, and he tells her it is time to go. She begs and pleads for her life, and those of us near death are wont to do, and Death takes pity on the beautiful young girl. He tells Keturah that she may live if she chooses one other from her village to die in her place. But Keturah loves all the people in her village and cannot allow them to die, not even if it means that she might live.

Instead, she asks Death if she might tell him a story. He agrees and she tells him a beautiful and magical story, about life and love, one that sounds familiar, but incomplete. When he demands the ending from Keturah, she refuses to tell it, unless he allows her to live. And so, she makes a deal with Death, returning to her village for three days on a mission to find her true love. If she can find her love in three days, Death will allow her to live. And if not, she must go with him to die.

This is one of my very favorite stories. I love the air of magic within the story, even though there is no magic beyond the meetings with Lord Death. I first read this book a few years ago, and fell completely in love with the characters. Keturah is reckless, fierce, and loyal. Her two best friends are filled with goodness and love. John, the Lord's son is another fascinating character, and you watch him as he desires to fit in among the people and learn to rule them well now that he might be a wise and just ruler when his father rules no more. Even Lord Death is a fascinating character. He is the most powerful force and he knows it. Nothing can stop death, everything must eventually fall to him and yet Keturah tries to defy him. She begs and pleads and offers her stories in exchange for mercy, for life and for time.

I knew that I wanted Keturah and her story to be a part of fairy tale fortnight, because it is simply beautiful and everyone should have a chance to read it. So I decided to reread it before the event, to make sure I did the story justice in my review, and the first thought that came to mine was to Sigh and think, Oh, how I've missed you. This is a story that feels like coming home. It is a tale that perfectly fills those wanting places inside when searching for those magical tales, and it is a story that will never leave you. I think about this book all the time, and I recommend it regularly.

The writing is effortless and vivid. It begins with a prologue that sets the story up with a fairy tale feel, right from the beginning, giving you everything but that actual 'once upon a time' and when the story itself starts, you are already enchanted by her words. You are in Keturah's world, you are living in that village, watching, waiting with bated breath to discover what the future holds for Keturah. Everything feels so very real and you can feel Keturah's pain and panic as her agreement with deal draws to an end and she knows she must soon complete her task or go to her death. She is fighting death for everything she loves or may come to love and it's not always an easy struggle to watch.

This is a story of love, of hope and of almost magic, the kind of magic that we can almost find if we search for it long enough. It is a story of understanding, of personal redemption and finding happiness with what you have. The risks Keturah takes for those she loves are huge and you love her all the more for what she is willing to risk to protect others.