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books

The Daughters by Joanna Philbin

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The wonderful people at Little Brown send great books to review. They made me paranoid this week, though, as two days after posting my comments about the publicity for Joanna Philbin’s The Daughters, I not only received it for review, but I received the sequel for review, as well.

The Daughters is a debut by Joanna Philbin, daughter of Regis Philbin and the book itself seems written from some experience — this story follows three girls, Lizzie, Carina, and Hudson, who are all themselves daughters of famous celebrities. In particular, we get the story from Lizzie’s perspective as she deals with growing up with a world-famously beautiful model of a mother, Katia.

The girls are 14 and attend an elite high school, where all attendees are someone or are related to someone. When the school year begins, Lizzie runs into Todd — a boy she had befriended many years before he moved to England with his family — and he has moved back to New York City and will be attending school. Of course, romance blooms and fades, and we watch as Lizzie chases the boy and he chases her back. Will they end up together?

But this is more than a boy-and-girl-love-story. Lizzie has an opportunity to become famous herself through “ugly modeling,” since she has none of the looks of her mother. She forges permission from her mother, and her career begins skyrocketing before she can blink. It’s not what she imagined, and when she has to lie and cheat to maintain the lifestyle, she knows that it isn’t going to be good. That, and the fact that the world famous designer who wants to use her criticizes her for not being a size 2 or size 4.

The Daughters is incredibly clean: I don’t remember a single moment of swearing, and I believe that maybe there was a kiss discussed in the book. There are mean girls, a la books like The Clique, which makes me believe this will be a good sell to fans of that series.

What really bothered me throughout the book was that these girls were way too mature for 14-year-olds. Quite frankly, they were written as 17-year-olds and a lot of what happened required suspending a lot of disbelief — at one point, Lizzie leaves school in the middle of the day because her mom sent her a text message that she was in trouble and needed to be scolded and then she just returns to class. Weird. This required me suspending my reality quite a bit to let the stretches work. I didn’t want to give up the characters, either, so I let a lot slide by my reality radar.

But let me back up here a second, too. That will be the total appeal factor for the intended audience here. This book is perfect for the 12-13-14-year-olds. They are at the age they believe they are a lot older and more mature than they are, and I believe Lizzie and her crew are actually really good role models. They act too old, too, but there are consequences for their actions. This is sort of the realistic-fantasy that the age group likes to read about, and so I can see this working really well. Likewise, it’s the sort of book I wouldn’t have problems recommending since it is clean, the girls are mostly likeable despite their flaws, and parents won’t have a problem with what goes on. Sure, there are a lot of parties, but never once is there alcohol or any bad behavior at the parties; in fact, I don’t believe we ever hear what happens at them except that they happen.

Since there is at least one sequel, this is also appealing because fans will have more than one story to enjoy. And let’s be honest: the writer, daughter of a respected celebrity, is parent-friendly, too.

On a totally superficial level, another huge draw for this title will be the cover. It is so reminiscent of older books like The Nanny Diaries and will again appeal to the fantasy 12-14-year-old-girls will love. The New York setting, the technology-saturated worlds, and even the dialog will fulfill their fantasies without giving them wrong ideas.

Ms. Philbin, thank you. This was not MY favorite book nor the strongest written, but this will fill a nice niche. I suspect many parents will also be thanking you soon enough, not to mention the girls who will thank you for a positive story that combines clique aspects, body-positive aspects, technology, and the lure/drawbacks of fame and fortune. Here’s hoping that the second book meets these same high expectations.

*Review copy from publisher.

Getting graphic again

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As I mentioned before, I’m taking a graphic novel course. This week, I tackled my manga assignment and did a little extracurricular reading I am very excited to blog.

Deathnote by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata is a manga I’ve read a little about before. And boy, I wish rather than reading reviews and stories about its history of run ins with censors, I’d actually read the manga. Take that to mean I may or may not have gotten a donation of most of the run of the books to my library and I let them go. Deathnote, at least the first volume, was really quite good.

A shinigami drops a notebook — a death notebook — into the human world, where it is picked up by 17-year-old straight-A student Light Yagami. Inside the notebook, he learns that this notebook is actually a death notebook that allows him to write the names down of people he wants to die. If he does not specify a method of death within an allotted time, the person whose name is written will die by a heart attack. To ensure that anyone named, say, Sam doesn’t die, the person with the notebook must picture the intended victim to ensure accuracy.

When Light gets the notebook, he is confronted with the Shinigami who dropped it. A Shinigami is a death god (aka: the one who does the dirty business) and he informs Light that he is the only one who can see him. That is, the only person who knows who Light can off is the shinigami; however, were anyone else to touch the notebook, they would be able to see the shinigami and the gig would be over.

Being smart and thoughtful, Light decides to use the notebook for good and not evil — he will be eradicating evil-doers. And he wastes no time in doing so. But the Japanese FBI will soon be hot on his case; even the evil-doers of the world don’t deserve immediate death. It is all too suspicious when they are all dying suddenly of heart attacks.

Deathnote was a super quick paced manga that really felt like a story out of mythology. Much of manga is rooted in myth and legend, and I felt like Ohba really grasped onto that. I loved the illustrations, which moved perfectly at pace with the story line. The shinigam is delightfully horrific looking, and Light wields his power masterfully for what you’d expect of the top-performing student in the country. Although there is clearly some violence in the story line, I didn’t think it was outrageous, nor did I find the concept of being able to kill with the deathnote as offensive as others have made it sound. I know this title is really popular, and I can see why: it’s something we’ve all fantasized about — not necessarily the killing part, but the power to do whatever we wanted without consequences. What a trip. I’ve already picked up volume 2 to continue this one.

As promised, here’s your treat. This week, I was able to find the new Stephenie Meyer goody on my library’s shelves — the Twilight graphic novel. Although I haven’t read all of the series, I have read Twilight and seen the movie. I feel educated enough to judge its merits as a graphic novel.

Let me just say, Young Kim deserves all the credit on this one! Twilight translates surprisingly well to the graphic format, and it is entirely due to Kim’s abilities as an artist. The illustrations at times are photographic quality; more than once I had to really examine the art to see if it was a photo or not. Bella is well-depicted, and I think that it’s a more realistic rendering than what K. Stewart gives her in the film version. She’s imperfect and yet intriguing, and Edward is the same way. Both look their respective ages, rather than older as I think they look in the film.

I’ve read, though, some of the art may be photo-oped — as a newbie to the format, this really didn’t bother me. For die-hard graphic novels fans, this will probably be irritating. You can read a fan’s critique here, and many of the points they make are clearly the opposite of mine.

Kim uses color very carefully here, and when it is used, it is stunning. The story in graphic format moves smoothly, though I found the use of the dialog bubbles distracting at points and even a bit garbled. A bit more editing would have been useful to make those issues less noticeable. Likewise, there were a lot of fonts used throughout the graphic novel, making that a little more distracting.

For Twilight fans, this is a nice companion, though I think some graphic novel enthusiasts will find a lot to like here. The story is good, but the art is what stands out. This will be a series, and I found myself at the end of this one clamoring for the second. Maybe that makes me an underappreciater of good graphic novels, but I’m an equal-opportunity reader. Bring on New Moon.

(If you ask, yes, I liked Deathnote more, so don’t worry – I’m not even comparing them in the least!).

The Gardener by SA Bodeen

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Admittedly, I am not much of a science fiction reader. When I heard about S.A. Bodeen’s The Gardener, though, I knew I wanted to read it. I’d read The Compound and while it wasn’t my favorite book, it’s a book that my teens really enjoy. I was ready to see what Bodeen could do in her sophomore effort.

Mason, our main character, is a maverick. Of course, we won’t know this immediately. It’s something we discover when he steals a pass into his mother’s work place — a nursing home of sorts run by TroDyn, a large science corporation that has its hands in about everything in their Portland-area home town of Melby Falls — and immediately spots a group of kids about his age who look completely comatose. What could be wrong with them, Mason wonders?

Of course, it doesn’t stop at wondering and of course, it’s the incredibly beautiful and flawless girl who somehow manages to convince Mason to free her from the home and save her. With his best friend. Mason does just that.

It’s here that the story unravels into an incredibly fast-paced story of science, deception, and corporate involvement in science and humanity.

Did I mention Mason has a huge scar on the side of his face from an accident in his early child hood? Oh, and he doesn’t know who his dad is beyond a DVD he stumbled upon in his mother’s files of him reading The Runaway Bunny. Oh, yeah, and mom is hiding a lot of money from Mason, too, which he would love to use in college when he goes to study at Stanford.

I realize I’ve left a lot of plot out of this, but the short and long of it is that saying any more will ruin the suspense and the action that develops. The story is well-developed in plot, with enough twists and turns that kept me flipping frantically through the pages. TroDyn is an evil empire set on solving one of the world’s greatest problems — food! — by doing something entirely unethical to future generations. Lalia, who is the girl Mason saves, will lead him into unleashing their secrets to the world. And it might just be his dad who has something to do with it. The Runaway Bunny also plays well into the evil-doing.

The Gardener will appeal to many readers, though hard-core science fiction fans will see many of the holes in the story. This will likely appeal to more reluctant readers, since it moves so quickly. We have a handful of well-developed characters who are interesting and encourage further reading.

My biggest problem with the book, though, is that we don’t have well-developed character relationships. Solomon and Eve, who we meet near the end of the story, were introduced as partners, but there is a quick turnaround in that relationship that never once made sense to me. She went from his assistant to suddenly evil, and since I hadn’t been introduced to either until the end of the story, that shift was never believable or easy enough to accept for me. I think since those two characters do play such a vital role in the end of the book that they could have been better sketched. I thought they were really interesting and was sad I didn’t get more.

The ending of the book, which we work toward at such a rapid pace, is actually a bit of a let down. I felt there was an opportunity to go out with a real bang, but instead, it’s kind of flat and undynamic. Mason the superhero never emerges where it could have been opportune.

A few plot holes are obvious, but because the story itself is interesting and unique, they are mostly forgivable. I thought they were quite similar to the holes I found in The Compound, which made me wonder if that’s Bodeen’s style. Most readers will suspend their belief in the story anyway, so forgiving the holes will be pretty natural.

Fans of The Compound will devour this title. I know my teens will really enjoy this one, and this is a title that begs to be book talked. And boy, if some of the ideas in here don’t terrify you, then you don’t watch the news quite enough.

*Review copy from publisher.

More Fake Fat Girls

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I realize I bring this up a lot, but this is an issue that really needs to be addressed. This spring and fall will be bringing us more stories of accepting yourself as a fat person — or in some cases, getting in better shape so you can accept yourself as you are. But as you probably guessed, we won’t be seeing any fat girls. Check out the new selection of young adult titles that will bring you more of less.*

Fat girls love ice cream!


Fat girls can be stylish, like Veronica who loves vintage, but we can only show you the dresses while they’re on the hanger.


We can only see the Designated Ugly Fat Friend’s face, and she’s actually quite attractive and doesn’t feature anything fat about her. Oh wait for the new cover design for this one …


YES! We have a face AND food (I’m classifying gum here as food). I love the girl’s freckles, but seriously. She’s still not a. ugly or b. fat.


I think that Bookshelves of Doom covered this one better than I can.

SERIOUSLY? Can we not put a fat girl on a cover, ever? I do not understand why this is so tough and unrealistic. Let me remind you of this and this. As has been shown with the covers of and Liar and Magic Under Glass, we can make a difference. We need people to speak out and speak up. This includes with our wallets.**

* Let me also add this: when we get into these conversations about fat girls on cover, we are also prodding an issue of thinness, too. Inadvertently, thin models and girls are going to feel attacked because of their body. It’s unfair and not right on any level. There IS NO PERFECT, but this is misrepresentation or lack of any representation. It is a lose-lose situation for everyone. If we want to write the books about being ok with yourself, we should also show that fact.

** It’s really a bummer to the authors, too, who work SO HARD to write these books. I’d be curious how they felt about the issue. We shouldn’t punish them since they are trying to do something important.

AudioSynced: War Dances by Sherman Alexie

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I love Sherman Alexie. I read many of his short stories and poems in college, and I’ve read both Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian and Ten Little Indians. When I saw my local library had his latest collection of poetry and short stories available as an audio book, I knew I needed to pick it up. Aside from the fact I like his writing, I knew, too, he reads his own work. I knew Alexie had a very distinct voice, and I knew that would make this audio book really stand out.

And it did.

While leery at first of trying to listen to an audio book of short stories — my thought was that the story breaks would be difficult to follow — War Dances changed my mind. And quite frankly, listening to poetry aloud is the way it’s meant to be enjoyed for many, and Alexie writes his in the way that’s meant to be performed.

War Dances, like Alexie’s other books, made me both want to laugh and to cry throughout. The mixture of poetry and prose moves seamlessly, and what really works well in the audio is that Alexie just reads with his own personal reading voice. He doesn’t give any of his characters separate voices, though he does change his intonation slightly to distinguish dialog from description.

A couple of pieces stood out to me distinctly. A short story, actually one of the lengthier ones in the collection, follows the loss of hearing of the main character. In this story, he describes the process of losing his hearing by reflecting on his own father’s life and end-of-life illness. The sound of hearing loss was like that of a colony of cockroaches taking up residence inside him. What I loved about this story was its homage to Kafka and how Alexie turned a well-known tale into something entirely new and refreshing. The allusion’s slight, aside from the introductory quotation, but it is a story enjoyed on so many levels.

Like many of the GoodReads reviews mentioned, the poem “Ode to a Mixtape” was wonderful. That, along with the poem about giving up one’s seat on an airplane were picturesque and such amusing insight into our culture today. All of the poems in War Dances can and would be enjoyed by those who aren’t normally “poetry people” since they are easy to grasp and quite memorable because of the emotion they provoke in the listener.

What this audio book does, though, is give you raw Sherman Alexie. He has an incredibly different and perfect reading voice. Alexie has a tiny bit of a lisp and a bit of an accent. Lucky for you, WHYY Broadcast has an interview with Alexie on their website that gives us a reading of the first poem in War Dances. Listen to the incredible lilt of his voice. Four hours of his story telling could have been forty hours for me, and I would have still listened in. There is something really engaging in his imperfect voice that made me care about what he was saying and want to listen to more. Oh, and please ignore the commentator on this one – it seems clear to me she didn’t read the book before interviewing him.

Don’t believe this will be an easy collection to read or understand. There are some very difficult to grasp scenes, and the language at times is not necessarily what you like listening to. But those moments are what makes Alexie’s points — this is a book of stories about ourselves, the disgusting and the beautiful, the racist and the too-politically-correct, and moreover, the story of art and writing. The man is brilliant and certainly a modern master of writing.

I was sad to finish War Dances. It was short, but it was enough to whet my need to seek out some of Alexie’s backlist on audio — but only if it is read by him.