This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Overall, the “Moon” series is a great go-to set of books that I often recommend to teen readers, but I wasn’t as impressed with the third installment. This book brings the characters from the first two books together, but stays in Miranda’s POV. I wasn’t a big fan of Miranda’s character in the first book, so I would’ve rather seen it through Alex’s eyes. I found him and his disaster situation in a metropolitan area in Book 2 more interesting than the small town in Book 1, so I found myself wanting to know more of the untold backstory about how he ended up in Miranda’s town. Things seem unresolved at the end and poised for a 4th book, I’m assuming. I’ll read it because I’m always fascinated by this type of post-apocalyptic sci-fi, but the characters are increasingly missing the mark for me.

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King of the Screwups by K.L. Going

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, “Fat Kid Rules the World” still remains my favorite K.L. Going book thus far, but this one was pretty good. Liam wasn’t particularly likable to me, but the premise of his character is pretty amusing: a guy who screws everything up because he’s too “perfect.” Well, in the social context of high school, at least. He’s the heartbreaker, the athlete, the fashionista, the rich boy, the teenage Adonis… Mr. Popularity. But he screws up one time too many for his CEO father and is shipped off to live in a dingy trailer with Aunt Pete, his outcast gay glam-rock DJ uncle. The fact that Liam has to try to be unpopular and studious in his new school (and screws that up miserably, too) in order to please his disappointed father is so laughably ridiculous. He tries wearing crappy clothes, making friends with the nerds, joining AV, etc, and yet the cheerleaders are still fawning over him and the jocks are still saving a space for him at the lunch table.

With a supermodel for a mother, you start thinking that maybe this poor guy is genetically predisposed for this grueling chore of hot babes, friends, parties, etc etc. Oh, the humanity. But surprise! Liam is a decent guy inside who just once wants to do something right in the eyes of his father. He also has a profound love/talent for fashion and style, leading one to believe that there is more in store for him (and not what you’d expect for a straight popular guy) after the glories of high school. Aunt Pete and his motley band of friends are there along the way to help Liam realize that he is not defined by how others define him.

I read a lot of YA fiction, and while I often delight in deserved comeuppance against the Normies and Jocks as a former (present?) nerd, it gets old. And Liam doesn’t necessarily deserve it. He’s naturally handsome and has great social skills, so he’s popular. No mystery there. But we get to see beyond the stereotypes, and we get to see him take the messy, unconventional steps of putting together the pieces of who he really wants to be.

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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
So very Neil Gaiman, but fun for the middle-grade kids. “Cemetary Gates” by the Smiths would be the perfect soundtrack…Poppy and sweet, with macabre and Victorian undertones. Nobody (Bod) Owens has been raised by loving ghosts in a crumbling graveyard. As he grows, he begins to piece together the mystery of his past. However, this is where the book is sorely lacking. The characters and setting are rich and fun, but the underlying story and motives are totally undeveloped. Upon finishing, I had many unanswered questions, but I enjoyed the ride, so I guess I can’t complain too much. I’m sure kids (even those pesky boys) would have fun with it, and it has much more mainstream appeal than some of the other recent Newbery Award winners that kids often find boring. Oh well…After being impressed with the visual magic of “Coraline”, I think that this could potentially be an awesome movie, at the very least, and hopefully inspire some of those young reluctant readers to pick up a darn book.


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Madapple by Christina Meldrum

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
A surreal and maddening book. I read this book while home sick one day, and the next day I was telling a friend about how weird and unsettled I felt upon reading it, how I felt transported into a skewed view of reality. “So maybe it was a good book, then?”, she suggested. Yes and no. The author really does draw you into Aslaug’s unconventional world view, filled with Nordic and pagan mythology and theology, native Maine herbology and wildlife, and the scars of psychological abuse and isolation. But the story is way out there, joining together an improbable chain of events that transpire between an isolated family, interspersed with court transcriptions as we piece together why Aslaug is being put on trial for murder.

I stuck with it due to the various starred reviews and ALA & YALSA recognition, but I really didn’t feel pulled in until about 1/3 of the way through, after which I felt compelled to finish it despite my feelings of uneasiness while reading. It’s one of those books that I think teens would either love or hate, and unfortunately, I would expect the latter in most cases.

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I’m a bit late in the game for this one, but I really enjoyed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I read this in one day…Before work, during my lunch hour, at the gym, and then under the covers. I couldn’t put it down! Best book I’ve read since Little Brother.

This is a grim, sci-fi Battle Royale-esque tale of teens battling it out to the death in a televised reality show, all in a gristly display of a corrupt government’s power. Katniss is a smart, capable girl living in impoverished District 12 of Panem, a post-American country where the Capitol reigns supreme and the residents of the 12 districts must toil to provide the commodities for the Capitol’s endless consumption. After her little sister’s name gets pulled in the “reaping”, Katniss steps up and volunteers in her place. She must now compete in the annual Hunger Games, which pits 24 teens (two from each district) against one another in a race for survival until one emerges triumphantly, all while the residents of Panem watch every detail. Can Katniss beat the game and stay alive? Read and find out!

The story is so compelling and action-packed. I luckily avoided reading much hype about this book beforehand, so I was overjoyed to see “End of Book One” at the exciting conclusion of the book. Can’t wait for BOOK 2!!! Oh my, I hope there will be an ARC at ALA this summer…

Recommended: Ages 13+, reluctant readers, sci-fi fans, anyone!