Stacking the Shelves - A Library Break

I'm trying to catch up and read all our Teen Choice nominated titles, so I grabbed a couple of books from the library. Here's a link to the list of all nominated books for the state of Illinois.

From the Library:

Girl in Translation, by Jean Kwok

I've already finished this one and my review will be posted Monday.

Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline

Audacity, by Melanie Crowder

This one isn't a nominated title, but I'm excited to read it!

For Review:

Brothers of the Buffalo, by Joseph Bruchac from Edelweiss

I've liked some of Bruchac's other stories, so I thought I'd give this a try.

That's it for me this week. How about you? Leave me a link so I can see what you got. Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews.

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Feature & Follow Friday - Laugh Out Loud!

Happy Friday! Here is today's question for Feature & Follow Friday:

What are the funniest books you've ever read? - Suggested by Alison Can Read -One of our hosts!

I think humorous stories are the hardest. There are a lot of books that I might chuckle at a couple of times, but I don't really consider that to be really funny.  For teens, especially boys, I think Swim the Fly by Don Calame is pretty funny. While not laugh out loud funny, I find all of the Flavia de Luce mysteries to be humorous, just because Flavia is so precocious! I think non-fiction books can be very humorous, and my favorite is How I Planned Your Wedding by Susan Wiggs & Elizabeth Wiggs Maas. Wiggs is a romance novelist, but she wrote this book with her daughter about planning her wedding. It's a niche book, and I think I enjoyed it so much because I read it while my daughter and I were planning her wedding, so everyone might not relate like it did.

How about you? What should I read for a laugh? I'm looking forward to all your suggestions. Make sure to visit our hosts, Alison and Parajunkee. Have a great weekend.

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Book Review: Calvin by Martine Leavitt

Calvin kind of made me sad, but I enjoyed it and it left me feeling satisfied.

Calvin has been hospitalized after a breakdown at school. He's a senior and has always done well, but has failed to complete two really big assignments. He has also started seeing and hearing Hobbes, a tiger. Calvin has become somewhat obsessed with Calvin & Hobbes, and in particular it's creator, Bill Watterson.

Calvin was born on the day the last Calvin & Hobbes comic was released (unbeknownst to his parents.) Calvin wants Hobbes to go away, but that isn't happening. The doctor thinks Calvin is schizophrenic, but wants to do more tests and put him on some medication. Calvin has sent emails to Bill Watterson asking him to please write one more comic showing Calvin as a 17-year-old, perfectly normal, without Hobbes. Calvin is convinced this will cure him. Calvin has asked Watterson to meet him on a certain day.

Calvin's friend Susie comes to visit. They used to be best friends but have become estranged in the past year. Calvin tells Susie he's going to escape from the hospital and walk across Lake Erie in the middle of the winter to meet Watterson. She tries to talk him out of it, but can't, so she vows to go with him.

During this entire trip, Calvin believes that Susie is also part of his imagination, but hoping that she really is there. Hobbes is also along for the trek. The trip is harrowing, and for me it was nerve-wracking. I kept wanting someone to rescue him (or them?)

Calvin is a very short, quick book but I found it quite riveting. I'm not sure how accurately the mental illness is portrayed, and the whole premise is a bit unbelievable. Their survival also depends on quite a bit of luck. Calvin's musings about life do add something to the story. Calvin will appeal to those who are interested in a survival story that involves a mental illness and a little romance.

Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux BFYR, November 17, 2015
ARC obtained from Library Media Connection Magazine
181 pages

Rating: 3/5

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Book Review: Da Vinci's Tiger by L. M. Elliott

Da Vinci's Tiger is a fictionalized historical account of Ginevra de' Benci who is the subject of Leonardo Da Vinci's first painting, the only Da Vinci that exists in the United States.

The story is Elliott's take on how that painting might have been created. Ginevra is a real character, as are most of the characters in Da Vinci's Tiger. The author supposes that there may have been a romantic interest between the Genevra and Leonardo.

Da Vinci's Tiger is also a study of what it was like to be a woman in the 1400s. The politics involved in arranged marriages and the existence of Platonic lovers--no, I'm not kidding.  Genevra was chosen by the ambassador from Venice, Bernardo Bembo, to be his Platonic lover. This means he admired her and would give her gifts and pay her attention as if courting her, but the relationship is platonic. As it should be, since Genevra is married. Her husband was honored that Genevra was chosen. How weird. So Elliott speculates that it was Bembo that commissioned Leonardo to paint Genevra.

We are given a taste of several other aspects of the time: jousting, life in a convent, how art was created. It all adds a richness to the story. Genevra wrote poetry, and the only line of poetry of hers that still exists is I beg your pardon, I am a mountain tiger. Hence the name of the book.

Da Vinci's Tiger is a well researched fictional account and includes an afterward from the author about the factual information she started with.

I wouldn't say Da Vinci's Tiger is riveting or fast paced. It's a relatively short book that held my interest mostly because I was interested in the subject. I did have trouble keeping the characters straight at first (this tends to be a weakness of mine, so it might not be an issue.) The Italian names that all sounded the same challenged me. I'm not sure this will be an easy sell to the average teenager, however art students should really enjoy Da Vinci's Tiger. Maybe if they've read any of Elliott's other books they would be interested.

Published by Katherine Tegen, November 10, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
304 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

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Book Review: Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young

Hotel Ruby is a quick, somewhat spooky book that I enjoyed while reading.

Audrey lost her mother suddenly three months ago. She and her brother, Daniel, have fallen apart and their father can't deal anymore. So he's driving them cross country to stay with their grandmother who they barely know.

On the way, they stop at Hotel Ruby and things change. Her father becomes more engaged in their lives. Both Audrey and Daniel find romantic interests. There are nightly parties. They extend their stay for a few days and everything seems too good to be true. Well everything except the mean concierge, Kenneth. And you know if things seem too good, especially in books, well they are.

Most readers will pick up on what is going on in Hotel Ruby, but that doesn't really take away from the apeal. Hotel Ruby is pretty macabre in places and creeped me out a bit. The way the story unfolds is interesting. The ending may or may not be what you wished for, but I thought it appropriate.

Hotel Ruby is enjoyable but not a book that will stick with me forever. I'm happy I spent a short time with this story and will be recommending it to my teens.

Published by Simon Pulse, November 3, 2015
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
288 pages

Rating: 3.5/5

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Stacking the Shelves: In the Mood for Something Christmas

Looking around for some Christmas romances, and I found one in our library eBook collection.

From the Library:

The Christmas Wedding Ring, by Susan Mallery

That's going to be it for me. My slow reading pace has caused me to slow down my request list so that I can keep up.  Leave me a link so I can drool over your new books! Don't forget to visit our hosts, Team Tynga's Reviews. Thanks for stopping by.

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Book Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I'm in a huge minority here, but I really didn't connect with Illuminae.

Kady and Ezra are the main characters and when their planet is invaded (it's the year 2575) they end up on separate space ships running for their lives.

Kady is a computer hacker and when another ship blows up and communications are cut off, she and Ezra know that something is up and they figure out a way to communicated secretly.

AIDEN is the artificial intelligence on the ship, and apparently it is the one that ordered the attack that blew up the other ship, so AIDEN has been shut down. But they are being pursued by the Lincoln, an enemy ship that will blow them up without the help of AIDEN. Dilemma....

There is also some type of plague that is contagious and turns the infected into something like a zombie. Excitement...

The book is written as a series of communiques via instant messaging, emails, other reports, and even drawings some of which have been written after the fact, which indicates we are reading a report of these events.

Most reviews that I've read found this style to be engaging. I found it to be cumbersome. I had a hard time keeping track of the characters. They were called different things by different people. I finally got out a piece of paper and wrote down all the names and nicknames so I could keep it straight.

Honestly, not much happens until the last 25% of the book. If you were to write this book in a normal prose format, I think it would be a novella. I stopped two different times to read a different book before I was able to finish.

The last 25%, however, was terribly exciting. I loved the way it played out. I can appreciate the creativity of the format and realize that my feelings are just a personal thing. This was just too much like a graphic novel -- which I really don't enjoy. I don't like to have to study pictures and text boxes to understand what's going on. I find it unsettling and disruptive. I doubt if I will continue with this series.

I will enthusiastically buy this book for my library and encourage my sci-fi fans to try it. I know it will have a wide audience here.

Published by Knopf BFYR, October 20, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
608 pages

Rating: 2.5/5

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Book Review: These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly @JenWritesBooks

Donnelly's Revolution is probably my favorite historical fiction book ever. So when I saw she had a new one coming out, These Shallow Graves, I couldn't wait to read it. I wasn't disappointed.

Jo Montfort is called home from her boarding school because her father has died. He accidentally shot himself while cleaning his gun. Nothing feels right to Jo, so she begins to investigate. She starts out by finding her father's appointment book hidden in the floorboards, and it has some confusing notations in it. Her father's company owned a newspaper, and while she was visiting the editor, she overhears a conversation indicating her father's death was a suicide. She confronts the reporter, Eddie, and they team up to find out what really happened.

Eddie tries to keep Jo from the seedy side of the investigation, but Jo refuses, taking risks that no lady should be taking. After all, she's set to marry one of the most eligible bachelors in the city.

As Jo begins to sleuth with Eddie, they become entangled romantically too, and this causes all kinds of turmoil for Jo. She meets many low class characters who come to her aid and who end up meaning a lot to Jo. There's a strong message about freedom here. Jo eventually realizes she's just as much a slave as the pickpockets and prostitutes, just in a different way.

The sorting out of all the details of what actually happened to Jo's father is not straightforward and Jo finds herself in imminent danger a few times. Some of her narrow escapes are a bit contrived, but the overall buildup of tension is good. And early on I had a strong suspicion about who the eventual culprit was, but that didn't take away from the story.

The eventual resolution for Jo was positive and satisfying. These Shallow Graves is a great mix of mystery, romance, and history that hit the right spot. I'll happily add this to the list of historical fiction recommendations for my teen readers.

Published by Delacorte, October 27, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
496 pages

Rating: 4/5

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Latest Sewing Project - My Very Hungry Caterpillar

I got to make my sweet granddaughter's first Halloween costume!

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2015 EBook Challenge -- Post Your November Reviews Here

We are coming very close to the end of these posts! I hope you are making good progress towards your goal for 2015.

You can see my progress for the year on my 2015 Reading Challenges Page.

If you haven't posted your October reviews yet, you can do that HERE.

Add your November reviews below:

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