vampires, villagers, and high society...Oh, my!

That would pretty much sum up my reading lately, as I've several books to write about today.

Firstly, I listened to Good masters! Sweet Ladies! : voices from a medieval village by Laura Amy Schlitz. This book was the 2008 Newbery Award winner. The audio version is excellent. Each of the monologues and dialogues are read by different voices. The listener can visualize the life portrayed by the author. I highly recommend this title for not only the tweens it is written for, but for adults and teens as well.

I’ve finished two books over the last week or so. The Virgin’s Lover by Philippa Gregory – which is another book in her Boleyn series – and The Luxe by Anna Godbersen.

The Virgin’s Lover. This book begins before the previous story ends (The Queen’s Fool). It is the story of Queen Elizabeth I, her lover Robert Dudley and his wife Amy.

*sigh* I wish I could have been sucked into the story like I was with The Other Boleyn Girl. I’m debating whether I want to bother with anther book by this author. It isn’t that it was poorly written. It just didn’t keep my attention…which is why it took me several weeks to finish reading it.

The Luxe. The story begins with a funeral. Beautiful, young Manhattan society princess Elizabeth Holland tumbled out of a carriage and into the chilly Hudson River. Her body was not found. One what was to be her wedding day, instead an empty casket is being placed in the ground.

What happened to Elizabeth Holland? Only one person was with her in the carriage…her friend Penelope. Elizabeth’s younger sister Diana is full of grief, wondering if she somehow caused this terrible event to happen, while Elizabeth’s fiancé Henry is numb with grief. Few know what secrets Elizabeth was hiding…

While it might not sound it, it is a great light read. I’ve already placed the next book on hold.

Current reads:

Suck it Up by Brian Meehl . This is a book group choice.

I’m listening to Breaking Dawn. I’ll finish it. I want to know how it ends. BUT…the name geek in me is screaming. Won’t say why yet. I’ll save that for the actual review.

Poison by Chris Wooding

On my short commute to work this morning, I finished listening to this book. It is an enchantingly dark fairy tale of Poison, a young girl who sets out on a quest – to ask the Phaerie Lord to return her sister – and embarks on a life changing adventure. Along the way, she inadvertently acquires a band of companions – Bram, a marsh wraith catcher who helped to guide her at the beginning of her journey, Peppercorn, a flighty girl who lives in the Bone Witch’s house, and Anderson, a cat who also lives in the Bone Witch’s house.

Poison’s knowledge of fairytales – stories that she doesn’t quite believe, even though she knows that phaeries are real – and her ability to think – and react – quickly, help her to stay alive as she completes one deadly task after another.

This story is excellent. Virginia Leishman does a beautiful job narrating. There were a few spots of the story that seemed a bit slow, but overall it was interesting, intriguing and just plain great. I am going to look for another book by this author.

Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole

I finished reading this book several days ago. As is rapidly becoming the norm, life has been too hectic for me to sit down and type up my little review. So, I am just now getting to it.

I neither loved nor hated this book, but rather, I thought that it was a decent effort at a type of tale that isn’t published often enough.

It’s the story of a teenage girl who is kicked out of her catholic school and out of her home because it is discovered that she is in love with another woman. After her own mother tells her to leave, Laura is taken in by her best friend and her mother. She decides to not continue school in the fall, and instead drops out completely and works fulltime for a landscaping company. Over the next couple of years, Laura learns to accept who she is, and that family is not always blood related.

What makes this story so unique? Not only is it a young adult novel with a lesbian as the main character (and whose friends cover many other fractions of the GLBT community), but it is also the story of a young Latina woman. So….that means it is the story of a teenage Latina Lesbian – something that isn’t found often on most of the big publishers’ new release lists.

What I didn’t like about the story:

I barely speak Spanish, having forgotten most of what I learned in high school and college. Thankfully there was a glossary in the back. However, the amount of Spanish in this book was a bit overwhelming. I felt like I was flipping back and forth over and over again. Additionally, the main character’s way of talking included a lot of nicknames for her friends. It’s confusing and annoying.

Now…I have a million and one names for my sweet little pup at home; however, most people can tell you that his name is Spike – even though I often call him Rooni, Spikerpup, Stinkeroo, Roo, Puffybutt, Little Boy, Baby boy, Crazy pup, etc. etc. etc.

I couldn’t tell you the name of Laura’s dog. And she talks to/about him often.

Additionally, the story just seemed too…too something. I can’t place my finger on it. Which is one of the reasons this was a difficult review to write! Perhaps because the primary characters were all over the top in some way, and it distracted me too much – especially in addition to my previous comments – from the story of a young girl coming of age and realizing who her true self really is.

So…my final statements:

Libraries who have a decent sized Hispanic population should buy this book.
Libraries who are lacking in GLBT young adult fiction should buy this book.

But, the audience is not “mainstream”. As someone who isn’t in the GLBT or the Latina categories, I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters.

One last but…

I would read another teen novel by this author. I hope she will continue to write similar themed novels, but perhaps some that will appeal to all types of readers.

ETA: I found out after writing this post that Down to the Bone is on the 2009 Best Books for Young Adults nominations list.

Woo-Hoo!!!!

Yes…I still need to update on Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole. And I will soon. Perhaps tonight or sometime this weekend.
But first, some exciting news.

I was chosen to be a member of an ALA/ALSC award selection committee! Yay! It’s the 2010 Carnegie Medal for the most distinguished American video for children! As you can imagine, I am stoked.

But wait…there’s more!

As exciting as that is, there is even more exciting news in my little portion of library land. A colleague has been chosen for an award selection committee as well. Which one, you ask?

Newbery.

Yes. Newbery.

So, please join me in sending thoughts of congratulations to my friend Lori…who will be unable to get any work done – at least tonight.

Congrats, Lori!!!