#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.

Favorite Book about Psychology

This week's review book, Inside Out by Terry Trueman, is about a teenage boy with schizophrenia, so we're choosing our favorite books about psychology / psychological disorders.

This was a hard choice for me because this is one of my favorite subgenres of YA fiction: psychological disorders, depression, self-injury, psych wards... I love it all. So I'll be talking about the first book of this subgenre that I recall reading: Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser.

Tara is a teenage girl who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The title of the book comes from her compulsion to - before opening any door - touch her lips with all ten fingers with equal pressure before touching the knob. She has several other compulsions and obsessive behaviors, including repeating prayers, arranging food on her plate perfectly before eating it, and avoiding stepping on cracks (for fear of genuinely breaking her mother's back).

I read this book over and over (to the point that I was almost concerned that I was developing OCD myself) in my teen years. It talks about the inner turmoil Tara suffered, the external influence of her OCD on her friends, parents, classmates, and it talks about how her treatment works (exposure therapy and - if I recall correctly - a medication to balance certain chemicals that leave certain neural pathways open for too long, causing the obsessive, repetitive behavior in people with OCD).

If you don't know a lot about OCD, this is a good place to start. If you're familiar with the disorder, this book might be a bit too simplistic.

Like Alex, I had a few options that I could pick.  The big one in my mind was Fight Club.  While good, it's not my FAVORITE psychological book.  However, I loved everything about Ellen Hopkins' Identical.

I'm going to tell you this right now: THERE WILL BE HUGE SPOILERS FOR THIS BOOK!!  I can't really tell you why it's my favorite psychological book without the spoilers: sorry.

The book gives us twin girls, one of whom Daddy "loves" (read, sexually abuses) and the other who wants to be "loved" by daddy, because he ignores her. 

The abuse alone does all sorts of terrible things to the girls' mentality.  One of them binges and cuts herself: the less "loved" one turns to drugs, alcohol and sex.  And as if their father (who is a judge) wasn't enough, their mother, the woman running for congress, pretty much just ignores both girls and turns a blind eye to their father.  She's also still blames him for an accident he caused, injuring her.

Through the whole book, we're following both twins.  We see how completely different they are and see how they deal (or really, don't deal) with their issues.  At the end, in typical Hopkins fashion, we find out that one of the twins DIED in that car crash... and the other developed a split personality of her sister.

It's fascinating and crazy and heartbreaking and you realize that the twin left alive probably feel like it was all HER fault, despite it not being her fault at all.  And it's interesting to read it a second time and realize that it's, technically, from the viewpoint of one person.  One person who thinks she's two.

By Its Cover: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

I like this cover because it's really the ultimate deception.  If I were to just take this cover, and not read the description at all, I would think it's about either a pyromaniac or some other form of things burning.  Because that's exactly what it's looks like: the letters are burned into the cover (which, by the way, I think looks AWESOME.)

However, if we read the book, we learn that it's completely a metaphorical "burn" that our main character (and many others) get.  So, I like it.  It's simple, but I think effective (and kind of falls in line with her other books.)

I love the cover of every single one of Hopkins' books that I've seen so far.

Just a few more examples there. All of her books have one-word names and this same neat aesthetic. They always fit the story well... except, in my opinion, with Burned.

When Cassy chose Burned as the Hopkins book we would review, I couldn't remember which one it was. I looked at the cover image in hopes of remembering, and it didn't help. I was thinking it was probably one of the drug ones, like Crank and Glass, because it was reminiscent of cigarettes, joints, crackpipes, etc. I was, of course, wrong. That could be all on me, though; it does still fit the story, just not in the way I was thinking.

(Edit to add, upon reading Cassy's thoughts: Exactly! What she said.)

Review Me Twice- Burned by Ellen Hopkins

This book... probably meant more to me than Alex.  Full disclosure: I was raised in a Mormon household with Mormon ideals (which, most of you know, but some of you don't.)  The first time that I read this book, I connected with Pattyn in a way that only someone in my position could.  I completely sympathized with her need to know more, to question her religion, her family, her upbringing.  I had all the same feelings and fears.

On a second read, I still have a visceral response to this book, but I can see the flaws in it.  Even the things that are not flaws, but extremes.  Pattyn's situation is an extreme.  She lives in a very abusive family, with a disturbed father and a seriously messed up support system.  These are extremes, as is her bishop, who believes that all women should be kept in hand.  Also, Hopkins' political views come out in this book probably more than any of her others (which is fine, it's just a lot more obvious the second time that I read it.)

But... at the same time, it highlights things that are really there.  The Mormon culture is very stifling   As a woman, you have no power, no say, really.  And while they like to give you the impression that woman are important, you realize that's not really the case.  All the positions of power are held by males, the priesthood is only allowed to be held by males, and all the women are encouraged to marry early and breed often.  It's a culture that everything is a sin, from coffee, to tea, to sex, even caffeinated soda.  And if you're ever to venture away from this strict path, you're condemned to a heaven that's not as great as it could be.  Maybe not even a heaven that's heaven at all.  To be a teenager in that... to grow at all in that, is nearly impossible.

If you read this book, especially if you're Mormon, you need to realize that Hopkins wrote in extremes.  At no point does she indicated that every Mormon family is like this.  And, if you really pay attention, she's not even saying it's explicit to Mormons.  She's more making a comment that God isn't religion.  God is God, and isn't going to judge you based on the strict rules of religion.

I really love this book.  It was a book that resonated with me extremely and, even after a second read and realizing the flaws that the book has, I still really love it.  I love that this girl learns about love and God and I love that God isn't made out to be a bad guy!  But it's definitely not a book for everyone (as this comment on my goodreads reveals.  Fourth one down, if you can't figure it out.)

My Bottom Line 4 out of 5

PS.  I hope Alex now talks about her beautiful stanzas and wonderfully writing and unique way of telling a story because, well, I sure didn't. XD

Happy to oblige!

Free-form verse is a wonderful medium for the right story. And Ellen Hopkins puts the right stories in it.

Remember how I told you guys about altar poems and other types of visual poetry? Of course you do. Hopkins uses this method very well. Below is an example from Burned of how she arranges the words into shapes that fit the mood of that section of the story:

I like this example because, like so much of Hopkins' writing, it has layers. The shapes look kind of like hearts, right? And we're clearly discussing love here, so that's fitting. But it also looks like V shapes, which is commonly supposed to be reminiscent of women (remember in The DaVinci Code, when they're talking about "The Last Supper" and how the V shape is symbolic of the chalice, the womb, etc? Yeah, like that).

There's another one in this book where there are several teardrops, which is probably one of the most intricate visual poetry examples I've seen from Hopkins.

Whenever a Hopkins character is completely at their wits' end, or if their world is crashing down around them, or whatever their big conflict is, the verse gets very fractured. There are words all over the page, and it's really like their thoughts and feelings have been scattered and they need to piece everything back together again.

Also, she has this neat trick where individual words will be aligned differently from the other lines, pulling a new, related phrase out of the page. Like this one:

That one is actually from Perfect. But you see how there's the regular text ("Don't bother to say you love me. The word is indefinable. Joy to some...") and then there's what I've come to call the theme phrase for the page: "love is a deadly weapon." Amazing, right?

I love Hopkins' style, and I love the stories she tells with it. They feel very real, and I can fully understand them and relate to them despite the fact that I've never been abused, addicted to drugs, suicidal, a prostitute, or Mormon.

Book Companions

We're all about Ellen this week (Ellen Hopkins, not Ellen DeGeneres, though they're both pretty freakin' awesome.)

        

                       The Wrong Ellen                            The Right Ellen

Lots of the books we love come with supplementary reading material that can be GREAT in terms of helping you understand the text.  They give you background information, a more accurate portrayal of the world building, and even some tidbits about the author and their inspiration.  They're kind of like movie guides for books.

Our very own Scott Westerfeld is notorious for putting out companion books.  In fact, there's TWO of them for the Uglies series.  Bogus to Bubbly tell you all about the Uglies world, from the meaning of the slang that everyone uses, to the finer points of hover-boarding.  He also has Mind Rain, which actually isn't anything of his composition (he only does the intro), but contains other author's thoughts on the book.  It's especially interesting because you have so many different views about the book.

A third, recent, bonus companion is a graphic novel he's put out called Shay's Story, telling everything from's Shay's point of view, including some stuff before the book that we don't really know that much about.

Westerfeld also has put out The Manual of Aeronautics, a companion book to the Leviathan world.  The best part about this sister book?  Keith Thompson, who does all the awesome illustrations for Leviathan, also does the illustrations for this book.

Rowling also has put out a number of companion books for the Harry Potter series.  Quidditch Through the Ages and The Tales of Beetle the Bard are probably the two most popular books from that series, but she's put out a few more.  The best part about these books?  They're all books that she mentions in the Harry Potter series somewhere, books her characters are reading.

Ellen Hopkins has a great book out as a companion book to her Crank series.  It's called Flirtin' with the Monster.  It's full of essays from people who have read her books and how the books have effected their lives.  There's even a court judge who says what an eye-opener the books have been and how it effected his judging.  But these were not the most moving parts of it.

Hopkins, along with her family, write their own essays about their experiences   Hopkins talks about how her daughter's drug abuse was handled. Kristina's (Cristal's) stepfather talks about how it all effected his trust, even "Kristina" weighs in, telling her side of the story, of the meth addiction.

Probably the most heartfelt and chilling essay was by Cristal's ten year old son.

These are just a few companion books, but there are TONS out there.  What are some of your favorite?

Ellen Hopkins Bio

I am SO happy to be introducing everyone to Ellen Hopkins this week.  She's an amazing writer and inspiring and even her life is inspiring.

Hopkins was adopted at birth by two wonderful people, Albert and Valeria Wagner.  Though they were an older coupld, they worked hard for their money and, Hopkins says, instilled the best values in her.  They always encouraged her writing, which was published for the first time at the age of nine (she wrote a haiku.)

But if anyone knows anything about Hopkin's writing, her life has been anything but easy.  She had two children from her first marriage, Jason and Cristal (Cristal being who the Crank series is based on.)  She entered into what she defines as a "rebound", which ended up being an extremely abusive relationship.  When she finally removed herself from it, the abusive boyfriend kidnapped their daughter, Kelly, for three years (though, happily, the recovery was finally made.)

They adopted Orion (Cristal's son) in 1996, when he was just a baby, though he is a teenager now.

Hopkins met her birth mother, who is also a writer, about ten years after she met her now-husband, John Hopkins.  She lives with him in Nevada, though they both grew up in California.

Hopkins is most known for her YA book, Crank being probably her most successful novel to date.  However, she also writes adult literature.  Triangles is one that I can vouch for that is very good.  All of her novels are poems that tell a story.  A compelling, intricate and wonderful story.

She also doesn't shy away from the hard topics.  Most of her novels, for youth, deal with drugs, sex and even sucides and how teens deal with these things (or, how they don't deal with them as the case may be.)

Really, if you want more information on her, you should visit her website.  It's wonderfully well done.

Don't Say That!! A Few Thoughts on Censorship

I happen to be a particular fan of Ellen Hopkins, author of Crank (which has made it onto the Banned Books list for multiple reasons.  However, it's fabulous and you should read it and every other thing she has written.  Because she's fabulous.  And did I mention she's fabulous?)  Really, one of the main reasons I like her is that she has decided that kids, teenagers mostly, can't be protected from the truth.  Her daughter has had a very dark journey with drugs, the topic which her books are based on, and she has taken the approach that we need to teach our children these things because educating them is going to do a lot more in the long run than shielding them. 

Last year, I actually won an advanced reader's copy of one of her books and with it came a copy of her manifesto that she's put out.  I've copied it in its entirety below:

To you zealots and bigots and false

patriots who live in fear of discourse.

You screamers and banners and burners

who would force books

off shelves in your brand name

of greater good.

You say you're afraid for children,

innocents ripe for corruption

by perversion or sorcery on the page.

But sticks and stones do break

bones, and ignorance is no armor.

You do not speak for me,

and will not deny my kids magic

in favor of miracles.

You say you're afraid for America,

the red, white, and blue corroded

by terrorists, socialists, the sexually

confused. But we are a vast quilt

of patchwork cultures and multi-gendered

identities. You cannot speak for those

whose ancestors braved

different seas.

You say you're afraid for God,

the living word eroded by Muhammed

and Darwin and Magdalene.

But the omnipotent sculptor of heaven

and earth designed intelligence.

Surely you dare not speak

for the father, who opens

his arms to all.

A word to the unwise.

Torch every book.

Char every page.

Burn every word to ash.

Ideas are incombustible.

And therein lies your real fear.

© by Ellen Hopkins

You can read this really fantastic interview with Ellen Hopkins here where she talks about her opinions on banning books and she talks about the manifesto.

I think we need more out there like her, people really coming out hard AGAINST censorship and I really commend her for taking a stand.  When I read this poem about a year ago, it resonated with me, especially the last stanza.  It really isn't about the words that kids are reading, but the ideas that they get.  People fear ideas and change and that's what the next generation is BEST at.  That's what books, be they controversial or not, are best at giving.  Ideas.  And if we start banning the ones that we think are inappropriate or involve topics our children can't handle, what's to then stop us from banning books with religious content we don't like, or ideas we don't want our kids to think?  What happens when we think that a girl is described inappropriately?

What if the girl just has blond hair?  Should we ban the book then?  You may think that's extreme, but that's what we're asking for by allowing any book to be banned.  Hopkins says, "A word to the unwise" and I couldn't agree more.  Banning Books is a slippery slope that we don't want to embark on.  Reading what we want, expressing the ideas we get from those books is one of the fundamental freedoms we're allowed in this country.  It doesn't matter if you're 2 or 102, you're allowed to read the things you want and say the things you want to say.  You're allowed a freedom of speech and by getting rid of books in our public libraries, school libraries or even off a teacher's bookshelf, that right is being violated.

A lot of people worked hard for those rights.  Many even died for them.  I think we should respect them by respecting the very first that was given to us.