I kept track of all the books I read this month...and then I rated them. Enjoy!
(evil smilies stand for stars, on a scale of 1-5)
Zel, by Donna Jo Napoli (Rating: 
)
Intended Audience: Young Adult
A retelling of the story Rapunzel...seemed very fluffly to me, considering the actual fairytale. It was almost as if the author didn't want to offend you in any way, so she was hinting around. Like the part where Zel and the Prince were supposed to be...ya know...havin' fun in bed (:twisted:), she hints around it and just puts the part where the Prince wakes up. Crucial scenes like these were beaten around the bush; pointless ones like the death of a pigeon were very cruel and graphic. Didn't make sense to me.
Mary, Bloody Mary, by Carolyn Meyer (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
The story of Mary Tudor, Princess of Wales.
Pretty pointless, told in the point of view of an unsufferably snotty girl who you don’t care about in the least. I only gave it stars because
a) It’s historical fiction (teehee)
b) The ending was fairly decent.
The Last Treasure, by Janet S. Anderson (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Middle School
Very interesting story about a interesting family and the strange incident that binds them together…about the Smiths, of whom most live in a tiny, separate community unto themselves constructed by the family patriarch in the mid-1800’s.
Family history was very cool, but the writing was slightly awkward and at some times very boring.
Full Tilt, by Neil Shusterman (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
Weird thriller-type book that wins points for originality. A normal high school kids gets one chance to save his comatose younger brother by riding seven of the rides at an eerie carnival that runs from midnight until dawn. The catch: all the rides are more horrifying than the last, and if the ride claims your life, the park keeps you there forever. However, parts of it were very awkward and it was pretty must just your typical teen novel.
Sahara Special, by Esme Raji Codell (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Middle School
Very cute, funny little story. It’s all about Sahara, a girl who is wrongly placed in a special ed class and held back a year. However, when her teachers deem her ready, she goes into a normal fifth grade class. But this year, a new, incredibly teacher named Miss Pointy is in charge, and things are never quite the same again…
Beast, by Donna Jo Napoli (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
Very moving, elegant tale. It follows Prince Orasmyn of Persia as a sacrifice goes wrong and he is sought after by an old spirit who curses him and turns him into a lion. In leonine form, he travels all the way to France to try and lure a woman to love him truly and break the curse.
Very cool book, but I can’t look at a lion any more without cringing.
Princess In Pink, by Meg Cabot (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
Funny, journal-style book in the Princess Diaries series. I’m slightly biased, but these books never fail to crack me up. 
Best Friends For Never, by Lisi Harrison (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Middle School
Second installment in The Clique series. One of the only contemporary YA series I like.
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Adult
A beautifully written look into the average biblical woman’s world. Follows the life of Dinah, daughter of Jacob, who’s only mentioned briefly in the Bible. As a girl, her mothers tell her the story of their lives in the Red Tent (where all the women would go and shut themselves up in when they had their periods because they men thought that they would be contaminated by the women *har de har har*) and Dinah adds her own tragic story where they leave off.
The ending was pretty bad though.
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
The real diary of a girl hooked on drugs. Really, really good, but she uses too many exclamation points for her own good. 
The Minister’s Daughter, by Julie Hearn (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
ABSOLUTELY SMASHING. The story of a healer’s daughter, Nell, and the minister’s daughter, Grace, during the English Civil War. Grace and her younger sister Patience go into a series of maddening fits in order to keep a secret that could stain their family’s reputation forever- and all the blame goes to Nell.
Abarat, by Clive Barker (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Young Adult
VERY COOL! Follows the story of a normal girl named Candy Quackenbush from a small town in Minnesota who ventures to a faraway land called the Abarat…the picture in it rock too.
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi (Rating: )
Intended Audience: Middle School
Very eye-opening, funny book about growing up during the Islamic Revolution, told in comic book form. Makes the political issues of the day very easy to understand…good stuff. (Today, I am Che Guevara!)
Points:
Time spent:
Canary word: Present
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You let your mom choose what you read?
Hehe. It's actually not that great, but since it's a true story you have to give it some credit.
My mom won't let me read 'Go Ask Alice' she says its do old for me *GRRRRR* But it looks so cool! I can't wait to read it when i'm 'older'
Very true...*shakes head*
Meh. You don't have to like a book to discuss it.
Well, I just hated the book anyway, so it doesn't really matter...*sigh*
It wasn't so much innocence as ignorance. Her being naked had nothing to do with sexuality anyway. By that point, she was mad. Also, something I forgot to say before, sometimes it's what you don't say/show this is more powerful.
no I read to much, trust me.
but thanks for the review I'll have to check out some of those books.
and Abarat rocks, the second book is even better and I'm half way through.
cheers
CL
You read too much.
Yeah, I put that into factor too. But she was like psycho-naked-lady near the end, so I dropped trying to understand the whole innocent thing.
But still, wouldn't you somehow grasp the basic idea of what this guy was going to do to you?
Meh. Another example of people who think kids can't handle anything.
How could you think the pigeon was pointless? Meh. Maybe you just do't get the symbolism yet. I thought the fact that she hinted rather than actually describing it helped the tone. Besides, you can't forget that this was published by a company that markets to under-15-year-olds. And you have to understand how a character like Zel thinks. She focuses on what she understands, not the whole bit with the men, which she doesn't understand.