Review of "A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame" by Brenda Woods

A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
by Brenda Woods


3.5

Published Date: February 4 2010
Pages: 176
ARC received at the ALA Midwinter Conference

Synopsis: If you could get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for anything at all, what would it be? This writing assignment, given out in Ms. Hart's tenth-grade creative writing class, sparks a group of nine students each to tell his/her own story. Readers are introduced to Jake and Shante's interracial romance, Carlos' fear of deportation, and Sunday's determination after being sexually assaulted. These teens persevere through hardship and heartache, laughter and love, and in the end, their voices shine through inspiring journal entries that answer the question in unusual and unexpected ways. Once again, Brenda Woods shows a keen understanding of the teenage psyche, as she did in Emako Blue, winner of the 2005 IRA Children's Choice Young Adult Fiction Award.

This book was short and sweet, but still managed to talk about some pretty sensitive issues. Even though I found the book to be predictable, I still really enjoyed it. This is the type of book that you can read in a few hours and feel completely satisfied. Woods characters are very different, but all have struggles that teens shouldn't have to face. My favorite part of the book was the end when Ms. Hart reads all of the completed final assignments. Even though you follow the stories of the characters, some of them still managed to surprise me. My only criticism of the book is that I'm not sure how honest teens would be with their teacher regarding their personal lives, but then again I may be wrong. I have experienced a lot of adults willing to tell people they don't know well their life stories, so maybe in some instances younger people do it as well. The ending was very cheerful considering some of the events that happened towards the end of the book, but I didn't consider it to be unrealistic. It is just an ending that is supposed to leave you uplifted.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction, especially those that deal with urban environments and current social issues. I plan to read more of Woods's work because I did enjoy this book so much. It is a true success when a quick read can leave an impact and Woods was able to do that in "A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame".

Review of "Incarceron" by Catherine Fisher

"Incarceron"
by Catherine Fisher

5

Pub. Date: January 26th 2010
Pages: 448

Synopsis: Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn, a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside- she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I stayed up way too late last night reading it because I just couldn't put it down. I just had to know what would happen to Finn and Claudia. I need to create a special rating for books that go beyond a 5, but I haven't done it because it hasn't happened too often. I haven't read too much steampunk, but I think it is something I'll have to investigate more when looking to read a fantasy book. Catherine Fisher grabbed me right off the bat by jumping right into the story. It was one of those experiences where you are a bit confused, but just go along with it to see where the story takes you. This worked really well with the rest of the book, especially when I think back to Finn's character. Finn pretty much went through his life in Incarceron just going along with whatever came at him, until he finds a key and decides it is time to break free from the prison. Of course how can he be sure there is even an outside? While Finn and his companions are trying to find a way through the maze of Incarceron, Claudia is trying to learn about Incarceron's secrets. Fisher is able to weave the characters' quests together in a way that is not jarring, but adds to the pace of the book. This narrating technique was really interesting because the characters fates are intertwined just like their stories in the book.

If you haven't noticed, this book really has everything. It has a fantastic plot, memorable characters, twists that will make your jaw drop, and good writing. The post-apocalyptical society was really interesting to me, especially with the creation of a jail that can think and act on it's own. I really wish I could get hold of the second book, because I can't wait to see what is in store for the characters. Not all the characters were likable, but they all were interesting and unique. I think that Keiro and the Warden my have been my favorite characters while I am reflecting on the book; they were just constantly surprising me.

I honestly could talk about this book forever, which makes me think it would be a great bookclub book for teens, tweens, or even adults. Here is the first chapter of the book from Catherine Fisher's website. She does have a list of other books, but not all of them are printed in the US as far as I can tell. I did get this book free from the publisher because it got sent to the store I work at. The best part of that story is that I had actually borrowed the book, but my manager saw how excited I was and gave me the copy the publisher sent. I came soo close to buying the book that day too lol. Definitely glad I waited on that.

New Job!

I am really excited to announce that today I am starting my job as a Library Assistant/ Young Adult with the Dover Town Library. I will be leaving in less than an hour and I can't wait! This is my first library job and it is pretty much my dream job. I am a bit nervous, but I know it will be a blast. I can't wait to see what books the library has and what holes I can fill. :)

Contest Winner of "The Secret Year"

Congrats to Lindsay for winning the ARC of "The Secret Year"! I will be sending the e-mail out as soon as this post is finished. Thanks for all of you for entering the contest.

Less Than One Hour Left In "The Secret Year" Contest

The contest for "The Secret Year" ends tonight, so less than an hour to enter! Click here to learn more about the contest and enter. Good luck to everyone!

Review of "Bleeding Violet"

"Bleeding Violet"
By Dia Reeves
3.5

Pub. Date: January 05, 2010
Pages: 454

Synopsis:

Love can be a dangerous thing....

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly, violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

Reeves has create a first book to be truly proud of. Hanna is a complex character that maybe truly crazy, but her quirks are what make you love her. Even though this book was a paranormal book about a town where monsters and magic are a reality, Reeves was able to weave more important topics such as family, love, responsibility, honor, and the search to find ones place in the world. When I first heard about this novel I didn't expect to find the depth that this book was able to achieve. I really enjoyed the world that Reeves created where things that would be considered crazy become a reality; and I'm not just talking about the monsters.

With that said, there were a couple of things that rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know why this bothered me, but there was a lot of sexual encounters in this book. I understand that this is just part of Hanna's character, but for some reason it just didn't work for me. It's not that I thought they weren't believable and I understand why Reeves put them in there, but it is just something that I could have done without. I also didn't quite feel the chemistry between Hanna and Wyatt. I understood why Hanna had a thing for Wyatt, but Wyatt kind of fell flat for me. I think what it comes down to is that I could have done with more of the paranormal monster stuff and less with the Wyatt relationship and sexual content.

I definitely recommend this book for mature teens. Even though there were things that bothered me about the book, I found it to be a fast read. I have a feeling that most readers won't care about the things I mentioned. The first chapter of the book is available on Dia Reeve's website, check it out by clicking here.

Sneak Peeks and Free Online Book

HarperTeen has "Wonderous Strange" available online to read for free. Click the widget bellow to get started!


They also posted more content online from Lauren Conrad's latest book "Sweet Little Lies". I posted the link for "L.A. Candy" as well incase you haven't checked that book out yet.