One of the best parts of books are the covers ! Each week we’ll look at the recent cover reveals and give some judgement. . . even though we have no qualifications whatsoever.
…
Uncategorized
Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius
- U.S. Release Date: November 12, 2013
- Page Number: 304
- Genre: Nonfiction
- U.S. Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishing (Harper Collins)
I’ve recently become an NPR podcast junkie and I’m really loving their new podcast Invisibilia, about “the intangible things that shape human behavior.” Each week the hosts tell stories of people who have rare psychological or neurological experiences–on of their first stories is of Martin Pistorius, a South African man who spent six years trapped in his own body. After I heard this story, I had to know more and was happy to see his memoir was on Scribd.
When Pistorius (who as far as I can tell is not related to the convicted South African athlete Oscar Pistorius) is 12-years-old he develops a degenerative brain condition that leaves him mute and unable to move. Doctors couldn’t diagnose him and his parents were told he had the mind of a 3 month old and to take him home to wait for him to die. Only Martin doesn’t die and a few year later his mind comes back, but not his motor skills or speech. He can’t tell anyone he’s back and he lives like a ghost boy as the people around him assume he isn’t comprehending what he sees. It takes six years for his parents to finally figure out he was aware and the book is his reflections on his time as a ghost boy and his journey learning how to communicate using technology.
This book tells a really incredible story. Martin becomes well known in the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) community and it’s interesting to see all the people he meets as he goes to conference. It can be a little nightmare inducing too. One of his friends was paralyzed from the eyes down from a stroke at the age of twenty-five.But it’s amazing the amount of technology and work being done so everyone has a voice.
The parts I found most interesting are the parts where he tells the things he sees people do when they think no one is looking. He observes many of his caregivers mostly at their worse, but also some at their best.
…
Cruel Beauty By Rosamund Hodge
“You’re just as foolish as the others. You think you are clever, strong, special. You think you’re going to win.”
Hodge, Rosamund (2014-01-28). Cruel Beauty
- Release Date: January 28th 2014
- Genre: Fantasy/Fairytale
- Pages : 342
- Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Cruel Beauty is a fantasy retelling of Beauty and The Best, where beauty is an angry and selfish (read: cruel) young woman named Nyx. Out of desperation Nyx’s father made a bargain that would result in Nyx being married off to the Gentle Lord, a powerful demon who has ruled over Nyx’s people for 900 years. Nyx mission isn’t just to marry the Gentle Lord, but she has been trained to take him down, but could there more inside this beast than darkness ?
Cruel Beauty is sold as a Beauty and the Beast retelling
but the story feels more like the tale of Bluebeard. A man whose young innocent wife discovers the benevolent Bluebeard keeps the bodies of his previous wives who disobeyed him. There is this sense of isolation and dread in the original tale that we see a bit of in Cruel Beauty. Nyx is also one of many of wives who have joined the Gentle Lord and, like in the original tale, he allows Nyx to roam the rooms of his magical house—expect for the locked ones. The Gentle Lord also keeps the dead bodies of his previous wives in one of said rooms, so I was really getting Bluebeard vibes
…
I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
- Release Date: February 3, 2015
- Pages: 400
- Genre: Contemporary
- Publisher: Henry Holt & Co (Macmillan)
Skylar Evans has one goal; get out of her small backwoods hometown of Creek View, California. With her acceptance letter to San Francisco State in hand the only thing standing between Skylar and the next step in her life is the summer. But when her mom loses her job and sobriety she’s not sure the summer is going to end how she planned.
Right away this book reminded me of one of my favorite chapters from Cheryl Strayed’s Tiny Beautiful Thingscalled How To Get Unstuckabout Strayed’s time as a counselor to girls whose success was measured by two things; not getting pregnant and getting a job at Taco Bell. This sort of mentality is evident in Skylar’s story, her best friend is a teen mom and her mom worked at Taco Bell for 18 years. Skylar herself is trying to get “unstuck” from this life cycle. Creek View is a place where future plans are very short sided and people drink and party to forget about their problems.
I feel like the setting of this book is very important to understanding the story. Creek View is this lower income area with a mix of lower income white people and Mexican migrant worker families. Creek View represents a town we don’t see a lot of in contemporary YA; most YAs tend take place in nondescript suburban bubbles.
…
Book Review : Suddenly Royal by Nichole Chase
- Release Date: April 23rd 2013
- Genre: New Adult/ Women’s Fiction
- Pages : 464
- Publisher: Avon
The story of an American woman who discovers she is a duchess sounded a lot more interesting when I started this book than when I finished. This concept of normal women finding themselves mixed up with royalty is nothing new with movies like The Princess Diaries and The Prince and Me but I couldn’t find the same charm in Suddenly Royal.
Samantha Rousseau is a graduate student working towards her PhD and taking care of her cancer stricken stepfather. Her life is turned upside down when it’s discovered she is a long lost duchess from the France-expy country Lilaria. Suddenly this American girl is plucked from obscurity and into the world of royalty, paparazzi and fame all while keeping her eyes out for Prince Alex aka Prince Yummy.
Chase executed the premise well, explaining how the families are being brought together but there wasn’t much of a follow through as far as plot was concerned.
I don’t know if it was the cookie cutterhero or the low ball conflict but the more I thought about it the more I realized this wasn’t the kind of story I expected. We get a lot of Sam going to Lilaria and about her responsibilities, but honestly it wasn’t that interesting. . . just a lot of people telling her things. I wanted something more akin to the first season of Downton Abbey. I wanted more awkward dinner parties, culture shock, witty banter and actual tension between the leads.
…
Kat Joins Bout of Books (Better Late Than Never ! )
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
Wow, I didn’t realize Bout of Books was this week ! This year the hosts of Bout of Books are doing no goals, which I think is great ! But I do want to list which books I’m going to be reading. It turned into a lot of contemporary YA, so I thew in some sci-fi adult titles. I’ll be updating on Twitter and Goodreads!
