tiny pink books

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Random House, 2010

I’ve only read Aimee Bender’s short stories in the past, but they have always been a delight.  I picked up an ARC of this at a conference and was immediately attracted to the title.  Her newest novel, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, took a while to get into, but once I did, it was reading treat.  Whimsical and strange, this is a unique treat of a read for fans of magical realism and Bender’s previous work.

Set in modern (yet wonderfully timeless) Los Angeles, Lemon Cake is about Rose Edelstein, a girl who discovers that she can taste the in food.  She discovers her ability as a very young age, when she tastes her mother’s depression in a slice of home baked lemon cake.  Growing up with this inexplicable and often disturbing ability is difficult for Rose, who faces family drama, childhood friendships and, of course, her struggle with overly emotional food.

It took me a while to get into this book (I think mostly because Rose’s childhood voice is not very childlike), but once Rose grows up a little, I found myself charmed by the characters and the general oddness to the story.  Rose’s ability is not the only piece of magic in here-there’s a whole heap of weirdness in these pages for the willing reader.  This is a book that takes place more in your head than on the pages-not recommended for the realists who want plot twists and dramatic cliffhangers.  For those who like fairytales, whimsy and emotional drama, Bender’s writing is right on key-delivering heartbreak and strangeness with a tender lightness that is captivating and completely engrossing.

Vinyl Princess

The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz
HarperTeen, 2010

Obsessive record collector and self proclaimed “Vinyl Princess,” Allie is seventeen and already living her dream-working at an ultra-cool record store in Berkeley, CA.  Working full time, Allie’s summer is peppered with often hilarious and sometimes dangerous adventures in retail.  She also begins a blog and zine called The Vinyl Princess, finding her voice in her most favorite of topics-music!  Her personal life also competes for drama in the story with a great best friend with a dud boyfriend, a recently divorced mother testing the waters of online dating, and her own obsession with M, the handsome mystery shopper who appears from time to time.   A great, detailed to the bone Berkeley setting, a charismatic set of characters and enough drama to keep the pages turning combine to make The Vinyl Princess a fun read that is sure to appeal to a wide audience of teens and twenty-somethings alike.  Written by one of the co founders of Amoeba Records, The Vinyl Princess has a connection for music fanatics as well.

I liked this book.  There were a few quibbles I had, mostly with some localisms that could easily be chalked up to my own San Francisco elitism.  Also, a more valid complaint, I did feel like the book dragged on for a bit.  The main characters were also a bit too tongue in cheek perfect in their fabulous quirky ways.  It was appealing at first, but their flawlessness was a little too hard to swallow in parts. More sophisticated readers will probably pick up on these issues of pacing and the character.

Overall though, I’ve got to recommend it!  With an appealing cover, a local setting, and a really cool set of characters to spend some page time with, I predict this to fly off the shelves.  Recommended for girls, girls who like music, and twenty-somethings who like music (or Berkeley..or both).

How To Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Sandiford
Scholastic Press, 2009

Beatrice Szabo has just moved to Baltimore with her family.  Her father, a professor, moves the family often for his job.  With all the moving around, Beatrice has grown into an increasingly detached “Robot Girl,” emotionally distant from both her formerly close, but now crazy, mother and her would be friends at school.  At her new school, Beatrice is surprised when she is drawn into the world of Jonah Tate, the weird, friendless kid.  Their friendship develops and Robot Girl finds herself unable to stay detached from the intense emotions that surround their relationship.  Really, this is a love story…just not a romantic kind of love.

How To Say Goodbye in Robot occupies a strange place in young adult fiction.  It’s a quirky book with high quality writing and a strong sense of place, however, the plot is almost entirely internal.  With much of the drama unfolding in subtle emotions rather than direct action, this is not a book for reluctant readers.  It’s slow and meandering, but for readers who want an intense emotional drama, How to Say Goodbye in Robot is worth savoring.  The end left me deep in thought (and a little teary eyed).  The characters, including the smaller characters, are all extremely well developed.  Also, although this is definitely a YA book, I think it it most suitable to the older YA set in addition to the 20-something adult crowd.

King of the Screwups by K.L. Going
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.

After getting in trouble yet again, high school senior Liam is kicked out of his home with his retired model mother and CEO father to live in a trailer park with his gay glam rocker uncle, Pete.  Trying to win the acceptance of his constantly disapproving father, Liam attempts to stop screwing up and change into the kind of person his father will value.  Of course, this doesn’t go smoothly, resulting in, you guessed it…more screwups!

This was a fun, light read with a sweetly positive message.  Though the premise and the characters are exaggerated and therefore less than realistic, they are enjoyable and, in their hearts, easy to relate to.  I was in a bit of a reading slump when I picked this up and this was the perfect book to pull me out of it-fluffy at first glance, but with an important, warm fuzzy self esteem message.

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee
Arthur A. Levine Books, 2009

Maybelline “Maybe” Chesnut is nothing like her former beauty pageant queen mother, Chessy, who constantly brings in a stream of new husbands.  Hiding in her baggy clothes and rainbow colored hair, Maybe doesn’t really fit in at school or at home.  After Chessy’s latest fiancé attacks Maybe, she sets off, running away to Los Angeles to find her biological father with her two best friends, Ted and Hollywood (aka Daniel).  As her friends find their places in the glitzy world of Hollywood, Maybe struggles to find her own place and discover who she really is.

This was a decent book.  It’s one of those books that was fun to read-the characters, including Maybe, are all larger than life, charming, and lovable.  Although the plot (and, to a degree, the characters) are somewhat unrealistic, the sweet charm and light heartedness of everything here will win over the non-cynical reader.  This was an okay, fluffy read for people who just want something a little bit quirky, a little bit sugary and a lot happy ending.  Reader seeking anything deep or twisty, go elsewhere!

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
Riverhead, 2009

Juliet, Naked delivered everything that I was expecting for a Nick Hornby book–it was amusing, albeit slightly depressing, witty, and fairly enjoyable.  Juliet, Naked is about the intertwining lives of an aging, has-been of a rock star, an obsessive fan, and a woman who has wasted the last 15 years of her adult life.  A good solid read for those who like their drama quirky and riddled with pop culture references.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2009

Cameron Smith is your underachiever teen.  He floats through life passively, putting in the bare minimum at school, in his family, work, and even in his friendships.  When he is diagnosed with mad cow disease, it’s like he’s going to die without ever having lived.  The disease eats away at his brain, causing visions and general madness…or is it madness?  Through a series of cryptic clues and possibly insane visions, Cameron is sent on a quest to find a mysterious Dr. X to save not only himself, but the entire world.  Bringing a new friend, Gonzo, along for the ride, Cameron is forced to really engage on an adventure that is part madness, part love story, and part spring break road trip.  But will he find a cure for his disease?  Can he save the universe?  Is this really happening or is it all just the breakdown of his mad cow infused brain?

I don’t really know what to make of Going Bovine.  It is appropriate that the main character has a deteriorating brain…because the story is messy and mad in its own way.  There are gems within it, for sure, but I can’t say, with any confidence, that they have been pulled together into a great work.  The humor, for example, is spot on.  Libba Bray is one funny lady and the world is a better place for it!  The friendship between Gonzo and Cameron and their road trip antics is hilarious in that buddies who rag on each other a la John Green’s characters kind of way.

Despite some downright delightful moments in Going Bovine, however, it was hard to get through.  The good part is, this is a teenage, stoner version of magical realism.  The unexplained happens and the entire story is unique and interesting for what it is.  Maybe it was just covering too much or maybe the mad cow journey lasted just a bit too long, but the whole story felt like it was falling apart by the end.  In a way, it was appropriate because Cameron’s brain is also falling apart by the end…but it just wasn’t that fun to read anymore.  I wanted to like this book, I really did.  I love that Bray has departed from the historical fiction setting of the Gemma Doyle books and there are some wonderful moments in Going Bovine, but I just grew tired of this book in its 496 pages.  Maybe, after writing under the more rigid constrains of the historical and fantasy worlds of Ms Doyle, Bray just had to break free and go hog wild, but Going Bovine was just a little too messy to be coherent at times.  It didn’t help that the epic journey had a bit of a letdown conclusion as well.

I would recommend this to John Green fans who want more of that buddy picture humor and don’t mind a meandering plot.  Likewise, fans of magical realism and epic road trips might be inclined to enjoy.  I would not recommend this to reluctant readers or readers who need a neatly packed plot with a clean resolution.  I’m also not sure if fans of Bray’s previous work will cross over, though those who were savvy enough to pick up on the subtle, but delicious humor, of the Gemma Doyle books may find something within Going Bovine as well.

Spud by John van de Ruit
Razorbill, 2007

Set in 1990 at a South African boarding school, Spud chronicles the first year of 13-year-old John “Spud” Milton.  Through his hilarious and insightful diary entries, Spud captures the every aspect of the madness, the humor, and the challenges that come with growing up in a school full of boys.  From hazing, to adventures with his dormmates, to first loves, to antics of his insane family, Spud’s diary captures a very specific stage of life and does so with great humor and heart.

I found myself laughing aloud (often inappropriately, in public) while reading Spud.  The boarding school antics that can arise only when so many adolescent and teen boys live together in such an isolated environment will have readers in stitches.  What surprised me about Spud though was the depth of intelligence and emotion along with humor.  Also, while I didn’t find the book to lag exactly, it was a slower than average YA read, probably because the plot centers more on character development than actual action.  That said, I would still recommend Spud to readers (adult and teen alike), especially boys, who want something funny and meaningful.  Not for those seeking suspense or action, Spud will be enjoyed by the kind of readers who like books like quirky coming of age stories, humor, and boarding school from the boy’s perspective.

Dream Factory by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler
Dutton Juvenile, 2007

Ella and Luke both work as characters in Disney World.  Luke spends his days sweltering in the Florida heat in a full body chipmunk suit (a la Chip and Dale) while Ella spends her days dressed as Cinderella, marrying her Prince Charming every afternoon at three.  The two are friends among a group of other character actors, but they seem to be destined to become more than friends.  Told in alternating points of view from the two characters, this is a fun summer read with a hilarious setup.

The thing I liked about Dream Factory the most was the setup.  It’s unique and interesting to have these sarcastic, witty characters sweating their summer away in fur suits at in the Happiest Place on Earth.  The contrast between the sickeningly sweet, Disney vibe and the antics of a rowdy group of teenagers (post-high school) is too funny to put down.  However, the story does slow at parts and, although it is surprisingly heartfelt, rolls along at an uneven pace.  I think it has to do with the duel authors and voices in the book.  Despite this, I finished the book at a rapid enough pace and was satisfied by the end.  It’s not the most realistic book ever, but then again, who cares!  It’s fun, it’s cute, and I’ve never read a book like it.
Recommended to teens and tweens who enjoy romance and quirky setups.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies:  The Classic Regency Romance - Now With Ultraviolent Zombie Mayham!
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Quirk Books, 2009

Preserving most of the original text of Pride and Prejudice, this modified classic now includes zombies and a horror twist.  The “strange plague” going around England is actually that of zombies.  Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters have been trained in “the deadly arts” to be, no longer just well-mannered young ladies, but zombie slayers of the finest caliber as they putter about society before being married off.  Mr. Darcy has also been transformed into a gentlemanly, zombie slaying hero.

And now to admit something that perhaps will sway your view of me as a reader–until it was available in zombie fused fashion, I have never read Pride and Prejudice. Although I was forced to read some other Austen novels in high school, they never moved me, a true tomboy at heart, enough to seek out anything more.  It wasn’t until there were zombies and a concept so hilarious (fancy, well-mannered ladies zombie slaying!) that I just had to pick it up.  Pick it up I did and it was in doing so that I realized that, while the zombie bits are funny, the real goodness of the book is in Austen’s original work.  I found myself enjoying the characters and the original humor enough that, at times, the zombie interruptions felt just like that–like interruptions.  Although I credit Grahame-Smith for coming up with such a wonderful concept and for fusing it in some seamlessly, the quality of the book still lies in the original work.

All in all, the postmodern, zombie mashup concept is a good way to get reluctant readers slightly more interested in Jane Austen.  I could see this being successfully used in high school English classes to make Austen (slightly) more appealing to boys and girls.  At the same time, I can see why Austen fans might be offended at the addition of ironically place gore and grossness in such a beloved classic.  I think it’s important to recognize that this zombie version of Pride and Prejudice, will never replace the original text.  It’s just a fun twist that may get non-Austen readers (like me) to pick up and *actually enjoy* Pride and Prejudice.