#9books9days

If you've been following our twitter (or our Facebook page), you might have noticed that I took a little trip!  And since I had nine relaxing days away from work, I decided to read nine books while I was away.

I'm only going to review seven of them today (you're going to have to wait until the end of the week when Alex and I do Bunnicula books), but I'm going to review the rest of them right here, right now, including TWO books that aren't out yet!!

Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld (Release date 9/29/15)

Really, did you expect a Westerfeld book to be bad?  Well, if you're waiting for one, this isn't it.  You have dynamic characters, who grow not only in their characters but in their powers too.  And you know what?  They pushed the envelope on what we think super heroes are.  We think of people with powers as either good or evil, but these kids?  They could really go either way.  And that's kind of what I love about this book.  At the end of the day, they're still just people.

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman

This is one of Shusterman's earlier ones and, honestly, I was a little weary.  I had read Downsiders and had been a little disappointed, so I wasn't sure how I would feel.  the Unwind distology is a high bar to set, and some of his other writings hasn't met it.  However, Full Tilt isn't in that category.  It was gritty and in your face and really made you think about life.  It was this nice middle ground between Goosebumps and Fear Street.  Scary, but not so scary you had to put the book down.

The Lightning Thief Graphic Novel (Percy Jackson #1) by Rick Riordan

What is there to say about Percy Jackson that hasn't already been said?  Do I love him?  Of course I do.  Percy Jackson is one of my go to book series.  And, if your kid isn't big on the reading, I might direct you towards the Percy Jackson GNs.  Graphic Novels are great things, and I think they fill a certain niche.  But at the end of the day, this just doesn't even hold a candle to how good the first book was.

Poison by Sarah Pinborough

This one was the only real wildcard in my books this month.  All the other books were either ones I'd read before or by authors I adore.  Pinborough was the only author I knew nothing about, and really didn't know much about her books other than they were retellings of fairy tales.  But I like fairtale redos and the covers on her books look beautiful if nothing else (plus, I got them fairly cheap during employee appreciation.)

However, it was the biggest disappointment this week.  Really, Poison just ended up being the same old Snow White story we always knew, with a twist ending.  The only problem was that twist, wasn't really good enough to make up for the rest of the book.  Her writing was mediocre so, really, the book ends up just being something to look pretty on my shelf.

Sold by Patricia McCormack

I have found I have a love hate relationship with McCormack's book.  Some are AMAZING, some are... eh.  Some I think the topics are important, I think the execution just is a little wanky.  Sold I think falls into the last category.  It most definitely gets better as it goes along, but the beginning of it was just really slow and hard to get through (and not in the 'this is so terrible it's hard to read' kind of way.  In the 'this is kind of boring; please get to the story' kind of way.)  But once our main character had entered the brothel and we saw her deal with her life, her reality, and learn to make friends and negotiate her situation, I think that's where the real story came out.  So, good book, but one that you had to stick with to get there.

Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

I actually expected more out of this book.  That's not to say that I didn't like it, because I did.  I think I've just gotten used to the shock factor in her books and this wasn't one of those books.  BUT I will say that I really did like her approach to the ideas of religion and there being a God.  The main character of our book is an atheist, and there are varying degrees of religious belief all around him, from his overtly christian girlfriend, to his mildly religious aunt, who believes in a creator, but doesn't push it.  As usual, Hopkins hits those topics that people are afraid to talk about, like the idea of a creator, and how people believe, and THAT is what I liked about this book.

Another Day by David Levithan ( Release Date 8/25/15)

When I saw this sitting on the break room table just two days after David Levithan had posted a picture of the cover, words can not describe the excitement I felt.  Seriously, I was jumping up and down in our break room, I was so stoked (we hardly ever get ARCs that I TRULY want to read.)  And this book was every word as good as I thought that it would be.

Levithan really pushes the bounds of sexuality for us, really making us rethink what is male and female, gay, straight, does it even matter, if we're in love?  And I like that it's not a straight forward answer either.  A has been like that his whole life, but it's much harder for Rhiannon to get past the conventions.  Either way, Levithan construction a most wonderful love story that pulls at our heart strings.  I've been waiting for this book for years, and I was not disappointed for a moment.

Review me Twice - Butter by Erin Jade Lange

To be honest with you, I thought this book was going to be about anorexia, not about an overweight kid, but that's just because I didn't read the blurb on the back (I hardly ever do the weeks that Alex picks.  I like to be surprised.)

But to be honest, I think obesity, and how it effects the KID, should be addressed.  We're so concerned with kids and their weight and the health issues associated with it, we're not thinking about the kid, and what's going on with them, and how their being treated and if they're depressed and that maybe, just maybe, their obesity isn't just because they like to eat.

I think Lange does a good job of addressing the issue and really making a point, showing you the problems obese kids face, and showing you that they are people, just like everyone else.  Like most problem novels, she shows us something that we've known all along; kids are cruel.  Fall in with the wrong set of them, and they're only going to make your life worse.

I like the ending because while it does have a little bit of the "everything wrapped in a neat bow" ending, it also has a log of the "things are really still screwed up and not fixed."

Coming to a Barnes & Noble near you

If you happen to be living in a bubble, you may not have heard that Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, is coming out with a new book on Tuesday, called Go Set a Watchman.

Barnes & Noble is doing a read-a-thon tomorrow, and if you walk into any Barnes & Noble between open and close, you can listen to someone reading To Kill a Mockingbird.

So my Customer Relations Manager and I thought up and AWESOME plan where I visit four B&Ns and read at their read-a-thons!

To be fair, I AM driving home from NY, so I was making this trip anyway, but it's still cool.  So below are the B&Ns I'm visiting with the (VERY) rough estimated times I will be there.

Moorestown, NJ (Between 12-1)
Christiana Mall (Between 3-4)
Belair, MD (Between 6-7)
Tyson's Corner, VA (Around 8-9)

If you can't see me at any of these places, you can follow my adventures on Twitter, @reviewmetwice.  Also, if you see me, take a picture!  #GoWatchaBookseller

Review Me Twice: The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

I have one neutral comment, two negative things, and two positive things to tell you about The Power of Six.

The neutral comment is that this is the kind of series you want to read in succession if you want the full experience. Lore doesn't spend a lot of time catching you up to what happened in the previous book, but he does throw in enough information that you don't have to reread the first one if you remember the important stuff.

For the first negative thing, I need to address what I wrote about yesterday. I told you about how empathetic villains are the best villains. Mogadorians are not empathetic villains. They are a children's story's villains. I was hoping for a little insight into their viewpoint in this book, but I got none.

The second negative thing is that I don't really understand why the title is about Six. The point of view alternates between Four (who the first book was named after) and Seven... So you'd think this one would be named after Seven? I don't know, that's a little nitpicky. But I still think it's odd.

I did like very much that we get to see FIVE of the Garde in this book (though one doesn't show up until there's about 50 pages left). It's nice to be able to start piecing them together.

And I also like that I very much believe all the occurrences. I believe that the characters behave the way they do, because they behave like normal, real-life people probably would. (Besides the whole "being the saviors of an alien race" part, that's not quite as normal.)

All in all, I'd say I'm going to read the rest of the books eventually, but I'm not chomping at the bit to go grab them right this very minute.

This installment of the book was very action packed.  There was lots of fighting and things going on, which was cool, and kept me reading, but I was hoping for a little more back story, which we didn't really get.  The big deal is always the opening of the chests, which was a big thing in this installment of the books, and really, it didn't yield much in the "what the hell happened" back story.

Unlike Alex, I assume "The Power Of Six" was more talking about the power of the six of them left, not necessisarily the power of Six herself.  Because they did talk a lot about what would happen when the remainder of them would get together and what it would mean when their legacies actually developed and what would happened when the, the remaining six, found each other.  Also, this book had more of the Loriens in it than the other, so frankly, I thought the title referred to more of the fact that there were six left that Six, but I really didn't think it was enough to name the book after it.

Despite these complaints I DID like it.  I liked getting to know other Loriens, I like getting the little back story we did get and the predicaments they seemed to get themselves into.  I like how everything ties together and the things we're discovering.  At the end of the day, it's only book two of a decently long series, so I guess I can't expect all the cards to be put out on the table.

Remember: Pittacus Lore?

I think one of the best things about our Month of Sequels, is that no year has been left untouched.  We have been doing sequels to some of our very earliest reviews (If I Stay) and some of our incredibly recent ones (Robopocalypse), so I like that our book this week, The Power of Six, kind of falls in the middle.

We read I Am Number Four back in August of 2013.  Our blog was just shy of it's one year anniversary back then.  Pittacus Lore was the author, which is a pseudonym for two authors, actually, James Frey and Jobie Hughes, all of which Alex told us back then. 

Review Me Twice - No Easy Way Out by Dayna Lorentz

This week, we're reviewing No Easy Way Out (the sequel to No Safety In Numbers).  Honestly, I'm really torn about these books.  I like the concept and the characters, and how they're getting gritty and everything is falling apart and people are turning back to their basic animalistic instincts.  It's all very Lord of the Flies (but with more technology... and with girls.)

But here's the thing.  It's all very drawn out.  Lorentz really, probably, could have put these two books into one book and it would have been fine.  Maybe even the third one too (I don't know; I haven't read it.)  Or, if not one book, definitely didn't need to split the books into more than two books.  Yes, book one had this awesome cliff hanger that made me love the whole book, but book two is turning into more teenage drama than a survival story, kind of turning me off to the whole thing.

Really, I think she needs to pick up the pace a little.  I'm supposed to feel panicked and scared, like her characters, and I really don't ever get to that point until I'm nearing the end of her books, which gives me the idea that maybe, she just needs to cut some of it out.

Cassy is absolutely right about the pacing problem. I put this book down when I finished and said aloud, "This woman didn't write three books. She wrote one really long book and someone told her she had to cut it into three parts." Which is precisely what happened to Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings books (they're three volumes of the same book, not three separate books) but these people have electronic key cards and a Senator, not Sting and Gandalf.

When we reviewed the first book, I said I didn't like how blase the adults all were about the kids running amok and doing as they pleased. That changes in this book, and I like the way it's handled (not as in, I approve of the behavior of the characters, but as in, this is interesting for me to read).

I definitely want to read the third book, if only because I've gone this far, and I want the ending. I also have a theory about the disease ravaging the mall (which I'm pretty sure is now two diseases because no flu in the world acts like what was happening there in the last few chapters) and I want to know how that pans out.

I like these books, but they aren't rereading material. And I reread most things, or would be willing to. It just takes a long time for things to happen (though, to Lorentz's credit, I said out loud at one point "something needs to happen soon or I'm going to fall asleep" and on the next page, something definitely happened).

Remember: Dayna Lorentz?

Back in March of 2014 (the day before my wedding, if you recall) we reviewed No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz. It's the first book of a series that takes place in a mall where a terrorist threat has been discovered, so the people in the mall get locked in, for the safety of themselves and/or the outside world.

This week, we're reading and reviewing the second book in the series, No Easy Way Out. There is also a third book, No Dawn Without Darkness.

Favorite Book Received as a Gift

The fun thing about being well-known among your friends and family as an avid reader is that you get a lot of books as gifts. This is actually the first year in my memory that I haven't made a Christmas wishlist for the sake of family members who demanded one, but every year, there has always been at least one book on my list. And that's a pretty easy thing to check off the list... take the list to Barnes & Noble, hand it over to someone who works there, and let them work their magic. Bam, several gifts, done.

Anyway, today, we're telling you about our favorite books that we've received as gifts.

First, let me tell you about a lot of runner-up choices. This year, Cassy got me a signed copy of American Gods by Neil Gaiman and a signed copy of Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan, AND you already know about the signed copy of Unwind by Neal Shusterman. So those were pretty freaking amazing. And a couple years ago, my now-husband legitimately surprised me for Christmas with volume 1 of Absolute Sandman, which was pretty amazing. But I'm going to have to go with the ring box made out of The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that my mom gave me before the wedding, pictured above. It was a group effort (I believe it was my mom, stepdad, aunt, and maybe my grandfather too?) and it's beautiful, and played a central role in the wedding. It was the first book my husband and I shared an interest in (he let me borrow his copy when we first started dating) and this copy now serves as a holding place for our engagement rings, since we don't wear them anymore.

Believe it or not, despite the fact that I read a ridiculous amount, I don't get that many books as gifts.  I think a big reason is because that I've read so MANY people are scared that they're going to get me one I've read, or something.  I'm not sure.

However, I've gotten a few, and there are a few contenders for my favorites.  Alex got me a signed copy of Yaqui Delgato Wants to Kick Your Ass this year, which was pretty freakin' sweet.  When I was a kid, my mother got me a copy of The Bridge to Terabithia, which I still have, twenty years later.  But, I'd have to say, my favorite was Dangerous Liaisons by Leclos.

My friend Jenna bought me a copy of this book when we graduated college.  There's an awesome note in the front of the book, but I think the best part was that she just knew it was my favorite book, and not only knew, but went to about five bookstores to find it (not something that's readily kept in stock.  Who knew?)  I love that she refused to go online and get it because, damn it, it should be kept in a book store and love how hard she looked for it and I love that, even though we had just spent four years reading books, her gift to me was of course, still a book.

Review Me Twice - My True Love Gave To Me by Multiple Authors

I am actually a big fan of anthologies.  I have the theory that, by sheer odds, you're eventually going to hit ONE story that you like in it.  And I did.  In fact, there were a number of stories that I liked in it.  I really liked the one by Rainbow Rowell, though probably more so because when I went to see her at Politics and Prose, she read it.

If you ever get the chance to hear an author read their own work, do it.  It's SO MUCH BETTER than what happens in my head (and what happened there was pretty good.)

Some were definitely better than others, because you have twelve authors and while some are great authors, not all of them are meant to be short story writers.  David Levithan's was not one of my favorites.  I love him, and I liked his better when I heard him read it out loud, but I still didn't enjoy his story as much as I have enjoyed his books.

But probably my favorite out of the whole batch was Gayle Foreman's.  It was funny and poignant and sweet and just a great story.  I thought it was well done and one of those stories that was satisfying where it ended but still full of potential.

The book was a good anthology, and definitely worth reading, especially if you're just looking for a nice Christmas book.

I promise, one of my New Year's resolutions is to read every single Review Me Twice book beginning to end. But it's still 2014, so I didn't finish this one. What I did read, though, I really loved. My favorite thing about anthologies (other than what Cassy mentioned above, finding at least ONE you like) is how different authors take different approaches to the same theme or topic. I think a major reason why I didn't manage to finish this book on time was that I had to put it down between stories (and there are a lot of stories... twelve, so sayeth the subtitle). I don't read different authors' short stories back to back. When the anthology is all the same author, I can read straight through, but I have to do that thing where you put it down and digest what you read before I can pick it back up in the multi-author situation.

Favorite Anthology

Zombies Vs. Unicorns is one that I fell upon specifically because of Scott Westerfeld.  He had mentioned that he had taken part in it on his blog, so I ended up picking it up at super deep discount years ago when Borders was going out of business.  Sad, I know, but it worked out well for me.

And it was a fun one, because the whole thing started when Christine Larbalestier (Westerfeld's wife and author of Liar) got into a blog war with Holly Black (author of The Spiderwick Chronicles) about which was better: Zombies or Unicorns.  Larbalestier was team Zombies and Black was team Unicorns.

This is what the cover of the book looked like under the dust jacket.

As the blog war went on, different YA authors took sides, and inevitably, the whole thing turned into a book.  So each author wrote a short story for their "side".  The whole thing was fun and hysterical, and I think ended up being great because it was such a pet project for all of them.  The whole concept was really, at the end of the day, a big practical joke.  But that's kind of what made the book so wonderful.  It didn't take itself seriously at ALL.

It also has some GREAT authors writing for it: Maureen Johnson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Garth Nix, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Carrie Ryan, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Naomi Novik, and Diana Peterfreund.

Basically, it's a book with Zombie and Unicorn short stories.  How could you POSSIBLY go wrong with this?

I tried to think of a multi-author anthology I liked better than this book, because to me, "anthology" implies multiple authors, and when it's all by one author, I think "collection." But whatever, it didn't work... this is apparently my favorite anthology: Everything's Eventual by Stephen King.

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again... Stephen King is excellent at the short story. He loses me with the longer novels but that's just a personal preference. Obviously his novels do just fine, lots of people read and like them. They just aren't for me. His short stories, however, are just pure art.

I don't think I even have a favorite from this book, either. The title story is really great, and I think about it often. It's one of those stories that sticks with you. Possibly because I have the version pictured here, and that cover photo does wonders for solidifying the story in your head. Just amazing.

If someone told me they wanted to start reading Stephen King but they didn't like long books, and wanted to know where they should start, I would hand them a copy of Everything's Eventual. Then I'd probably pile The Running Man and The Long Walk on top of it, but still. Great book.

Twelve Author Bios

This week, we actually have TWELVE authors, because we're reading a Christmas Anthology!!  So, I thought it might be fun to actually do a quick bio on each of them (and that means most of them will be almost directly copy and pasted from Goodreads.  So be prepared for that.)

Stephanie Perkins

Perkins writes novels for teens (and for adults who aren't afraid to admit that teen books are awesome). She was born in South Carolina, raised in Arizona, attended universities in San Francisco and Atlanta, and now lives in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

Her best friend is her husband Jarrod. Their house is almost a hundred years old, and every room is painted a different color of the rainbow. They share it with a cat named Mr. Tumnus.

She's always worked with books—first as a bookseller, then as a librarian, and now as a novelist. On weekdays, you'll find her at her desk, typing away, downing cups of coffee and tea. On the weekend, you'll find her at the movies, waiting for the actors to kiss. She believes all novels and films should have more kissing.

Holly Black

Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh) The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are the middle grade novel, Doll Bones, and the dark fantasy stand-alone, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.

Ally Carter

Ally Carter is a writer living and working in the Midwest. She loved school so much she kept going...and going...and going...until finally she had to graduate. Now she has degrees from Oklahoma State University and Cornell University and a house and a job and other very grown-up things.

Her life is either very ordinary or the best deep-cover legend ever. She'd tell you more, but...well...you know...

Gayle Foreman

My name is Gayle Forman and I love to write young-adult novels. Because I do. So thank you for reading them. Because without you, it’d just be me. And the voices in my head.

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in such publications asJane, Seventeen, Glamour, Elle, and The New York Times Magazine, to name just a few. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Jenny Han

(Han like Han Solo, not Han like hand) was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. She went to college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) and she went on to graduate school at the New School in New York City, where she received her MFA in Writing for Children. She lives in Brooklyn.  She is the author of To All The Boys I Have Loved Before and The Summer I Turned Pretty

David Levithan

David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.

Kelly Link

Kelly Link is an American author of short stories born in 1969. Her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: sometimes a combination of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and realism.

Myra McEntire

Myra McEntire is an avid Doctor Who fan and will argue passionately about which incarnation is the best. She loves to search thrift stores for things to upcycle, as she’s a big believer in second chances. She lives with her two boys and husband near Nashville, Tennessee. Myra is the author of the Hourglass trilogy, which has been nominated for two RITAs and a YALSA Teen Top Ten, and was chosen as a SIBA Okra Pick. She’s currently contracted with Storybird, where she’s serializing a middle grade novel, called THE SHADOW GATE.

Matt De La Pena

Matt de la Peña is the author of five critically-acclaimed young adult novels—Ball Don't Lie, Mexican WhiteBoy, We Were Here, I Will Save You and The Living—as well as the award-winning picture book A Nation’s Hope: The story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, where he attended school on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. de la Peña currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He teaches creative writing and visits high schools and colleges throughout the country.

Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Laini Taylor

Hi there! I'm a writer of fantasy books for young people, but my books can be enjoyed by adults as well. My 'Dreamdark' books, Blackbringer (2007) and Silksinger (2009) are about faeries -- not dainty little flowery things, but warrior-faeries who battle devils. My first young adult book, Lips Touch, is a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award! It's creepy, sensual supernatural romance. . . about kissing. I am also an artist with a licensed gift product line called "Laini's Ladies."

Kiersten White

Hi! I'm the New York Times best-selling author of Paranormalcy and Supernaturally. I also give the most awkward hugs in the world. You should probably opt for one of my books over one of my hugs, but then again, maybe you like awkward hugs.

As for me, I like writing flirting scenes, and fighting scenes, and sometimes I write scenes that fall somewhere in between the two, but only if I can't avoid it.

And don't forget to enter our contest to win a signed copy of Unwind!!!

My Author count is hitting the stratosphere this year.

Because I like to keep you posted on all of the authors I see, here are some pictures from the book signing I went to tonight.

On the left is me with Rainbow Rowell (hard to tell, but she's holding a copy of Fangirl) and on the right is me and David Levithan.  I know: I can feel the jealous rolling off of you in WAVES right now.  It's practically tangible.

There were also some other awesome authors there, Coe Booth (Kind of Like Brothers), Tanuja Desai Hidier (Bombay Blues), and Bill Konigsburg (Openly Straight).  They were all funny and hilarious and wonderful and read passages from their books and really, if you get the chance to see David Levithan ever, go see him because he's hysterical, I think more so because he was with a group of people he was so comfortable with.

 And yes, I was close enough to David Levithan that the man was practically sweating on me.  It was fantastic.  And did I mention that he complimented my shoes?  I almost had to go die in a corner I was fangirling so hard.

Aliens in Literature

These days, it's all about the zombies and the vamps.  We a culture obsessed with disease and how it's going to, inevitably, bring us down.  And while that obsession makes sense, because it seems like the most realistic way that we're all going to die as a race, it means that some other ideas get neglected in literature.

Mainly the extraterrestrials.

Aliens, though, have been permeating our literature for years, probably without us even realizing that they've been doing it (which makes it all the creepier because then, potentially, couldn't they also be inching into our society without us ever realizing it?)

One of Alex's favorite books is about nothing but alien's.  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has a multitude of aliens in it.  In fact, our main character, Arthur Dent, has been best friends with an alien for years and not even known it.  Planet earth gets destroyed because they're making an interplanetary highway, and Earth is in the way, but none of us know about aliens, so we can't go anywhere to fight it.

A Wrinkle in Time is a book that most of us have read as kids, and it centers around three kids, who are brought to another planet by three aliens, to fight off an alien and save their father.  It's really about Meg's personal journey, but the entire book centers around alien worlds and beings and protecting the earth.

Probably one of the most influential books of all time involved aliens.  War of the Worlds was a book about an alien invasion.  In 1938, it was broadcast on air.  Due to the nature of the radio show, vocal
performances and no commercial interruptions, many tuned in after the program had already started.  It caused wide spread panic because the populace thought that we were actually being invaded by aliens.  There was rioting and police inquiries and people out on the streets in fear because of the show.  It wasn't until morning that the truth of the matter came out.

Aliens have been a huge part of our culture, and while they may not be as prevalent as some other trends right now, they have certainly made their impact on history.

Favorite Literary Bullies

This week's book is quite clearly about a bully. Her name is right there in the title: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. So this week, we're picking our favorite bullies from books.

Draco Malfoy was the very first character I thought about when I tried to come up with my favorite bully from a book. Then I considered some others (The Chocolate War, and Thirteen Reasons Why - but probably not for the reasons you think) but I don't LIKE them as much as I like Draco.

One thing I really love about the Harry Potter books is that, by the end, there is really only one bad guy, and if you have a big enough heart, you can even see that Voldemort was only a victim of circumstances and bad decisions. But the two characters you've hated since the beginning, Draco and Snape, become lovable. Did you ever think, back in the late 1990s, that you would wind up feeling such pity for Draco? By the end, you can go back and look at everything he ever did in the books and see exactly why. Just watch him in the last book/movie, making the hardest choice of his life, picking between his parents AND Voldemort - who hand-picked him for an extremely high honor and difficult task - and doing the right thing. I'm just so proud of him.

You might wonder why I chose Draco and not Snape. I feel the same exact way about Snape, with one major difference. An adult, and more specifically an educator, - no matter how deep and painful their emotional wounds run - should know better than to treat a young student the way Snape treated Harry all those years.

I love Merteuil from Dangerous Liaisons.  I mean, how could you not?  She's a fantastic bully, mainly because half the time, you probably don't even realize that she' bullying you.  She manipulates and strategies and moves everyone around like pieces on a chess board and most of those pieces think she's their friends!

Really, it's only through her letters to Valmont that we realize what a bully she is.  She's retaliating through an innocent girl, completely ruining her life for no other reason than she feels she was slighted by a guy.  She's the ultimate bully, if you think about it, and, up until this point, has gotten away with it.

Holocaust Literature

We talk a lot about holocaust literature around here, mostly because we (perhaps morbidly?) really enjoy reading about it.  There are probably three major types of that you can pick up about it.

Memoirs

We've read a lot of memoirs.  They're first hand accounts of the things that go on. The Diary of Anne Frank is probably one of the most well known first hand accounts.  I've also talked about The Girl in the Red Coat and, while Maus isn't a first hand account technically, it's someone taking down a first hand account of what happened almost word for word.  You get a lot of memoirs in holocaust fiction.  In fact, it's probably the most prevalent, probably because a lot of people I think need to get their experiences out of them.  They need to get it down on paper and let people know what happened.




Non-Fiction text

These are essentially like history books.  Biographies or just general history books.  Anything that tells about the time, but isn't a first hand account of what happened.  They tell about what's going on, but they aren't through anyone's eyes.  They stick to the facts.  They are (supposed to be) unemotional and unbiased.  Schindler's List is a good example of this.  While the book is mostly about Schindler and what he did, it tells you a lot about what went on in the time period and during the war.

Fiction

These are books that give us fictional accounts, but still relate the horrors of what happened during the time period.  Our book this week, Once, is a good example of that.  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is also a good example of that, and rare because it's told from the German side of things, from a very innocent point of view.  The stories are a little more embellished, but often based on things that actually happened.

Least Favorite Dystopian Novel

We love dystopian novels around here.  LOVE, love, love them.  But, let's face it, not every one can be good, and that applies to dystopian novels as much as any other book.  So this week, we're giving you a least favorite.

Ok, I don't want to give too much away with this because, well, let's face it, it's the third (and sort of final) book in the Divergent series.  There's a lot to give away.

But I hated it.  And not for the reason a lot of other people hated it (which I won't reveal), but there was a particular thing everyone hated, which I actually thought improved the book tenfold.

(Ok, fair warning, this part will be a little spoilery).  

But for the first, oh, I don't know, two thirds of the book... NOTHING HAPPENED.  I mean, absolutely nothing.  They sat and putzed around a complex and talked about what happened in the past and it was about 300 pages of exposition, with this fake rebellion in the middle of the book as if to say, "yes, I know I'm getting boring, so here's the plot of the last two books in 40 pages.)

So, Divergent and Insurgent good, Alligiant super boring and did not live up to its predecessors at ALL!

Guess what I learned about myself? I can't find a single book of dystopian fiction that I genuinely dislike that I've read. Turns out, there's so much of this stuff out there, I just don't read the ones I don't think I'll like. So to avoid cheating you out of half a post, this is the dystopian book I liked the least (though I don't really dislike it)...

I wasn't introduced to The Giver by Lois Lowry until college (despite having a whole shelf full of books by that woman, I had never even heard of this one, somehow) so I don't have a childhood experience with it.

I don't feel emotionally invested in it like I do with Hunger Games or even Divergent, and I don't think I'll see the movie in theaters when it comes out, like I did with the aforementioned.

And I don't think it has to do with the protagonist not being female (though, you've noticed that's the recent trend, right?)... I think it has more to do with his age than with his gender. He's younger than your average dystopian hero.

Now remember... I don't actively dislike this book... it's just the one in the genre that I like the least.

Review Me Twice - Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Did you ever read a book that, no matter how many times you read it, it just makes you feel... good?  That's how I feel about Boy Meets Boy.  First, I love the world Levithan creates.  It's one in which, almost everyone is tolorent, and those that are not, are actually frowned upon (I won't say looked down on, because you don't get that vibe, but you definitely get the WE DO NOT APPROVE vibe.)

The star quarterback of the football team is also the homecoming queen.  Paul, our main character, has know he was gay since he was in kindergarten and his parents are completely cool with it.  As is everyone in his school.  The drama that's created is usual high school drama, but without any of the prejudices.

I love that it's just a story of love.  It's a story of getting to know a person, learning to trust them, learning to let yourself love.  And not just romantic love.  It's learning to love like a friend, like a family member, like a decent human being.  It's a group of high school kids all just... learning what high school is like.

Really, I think this is the most wonderful, most heartfelt and most feel good book you could ever read.  And you should.

I didn't say it very explicitly when we reviewed The Fault In Our Stars, but the overwhelming "quirkiness" of the characters is part of why I really didn't like them. By that standard, I should also dislike the cast of Boy Meets Boy, but I don't... they're lovably quirky. I suppose that's probably a matter of opinion more than anything else, but that's how I see them.

It's so great to see a healthy relationship in a YA novel, and on top of that, I'm thinking specifically of titular gay relationship. Most of the characters are good role models for any young adult (I say "most" because nobody's perfect) and it's awesome to see them acting like real people. (Maybe that's why I forgive their forced quirkiness... they still act like real people despite it.)

Author Bio - David Levithan

David Levithan is a MUCH beloved author around our parts.  Mainly, everything he writes is magic.  But seriously.  I have yet to read something by him I don't love which why we recommend him again, and again, and again.

Levithan actually started out at age 19, with the Scholastic Corporation, working on The Babysitter's Club (A link, for all you youngins who have no idea what that is.)  He still works for Scholastic, editing in between writing his books.

You hear a LOT of other authors talk about him, always fondly.  I know he is the editor for Libba Bray's book and also was there when Patricia McCormick write Cut.  He edits for all these authors through a company he founded called PUSH, which promotes edgier and more controversial books for teens (which is kind of why we love him, isn't it.)

He's written SO MANY books, including Boy Meets Boy (his first, and the one we'll be reviewing this week), Everyday (his newest), and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (written with John Green, who is equally amazing.)

To learn more about him, go visit his website, or his facebook page, or his twitter.  Let's face it.  He's pretty much everywhere.

From Page To Screen

So, at work, we constantly have these tables called "from page to screen" and on it we pile all of the books that have been turned into movies (or are about to be.)  Since we're talking so much about books that result from video games this week, I thought it only appropriate to give you a list of books that have movie companions.

I've listed this book on here more than a few times, and of course, we reviewed it awhile back, but I think it bears being repeated.  The book is amazing and, I can tell you, that the second book holds up to the first one.  I might even like it better than I did the first one.  This is definitely something you should read before the movie comes out in September.

This book is probably on my top 10 favorite of all time.  It's sweet and it's moving and it's so incredibly and beautifully written, it's impossible not to fall in love with it each time that you read it.  Narrated by Death, it's the perfect third person view.  It does have a movie already out on DVD, which I can really tell you if it's good or bad, seeing as I've never seen it, but definitely get your hands on the book first.

This is a great alien superpower book (and another that fell onto our review radar).  It's interesting and fun and really well done, but not so over the top that you can't take it seriously.  Apparently, it's also a movie, that came out in 2011.  Who knew?  So after you read the book (which you will love), take a look at the movie (which looks like it might not be terrible.)

This is one of the VERY few books that I actually enjoyed the movie better (though, how could you not with Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman.)  However, the book is well written and tells a wonderful story of two women, making their own way while the Civil War is going on. (and you can read our review here!!)

There are SO many books to movies.  So, tell me what movies you preferred over the books?