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timerippleThis weekend I attended the final concert of BCMFest, which was lots of fun but involved far too many power chords. XD
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Congratulations to all the YALSA winners! I woke up yesterday just in time to catch most of the live broadcast from ALA Midwinter in San Diego. I have actually read almost none of the award-winners, though many of the nominees have been on my radar for a while now.
This is because I have been busy reading other things:
Charles & Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. A fascinating and intimate look at the Darwins’ marriage, which seems to have been a study in Making It Work. Written for middle grade and YA-ish readers. As the starred review in The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books says, “Come for the science, stay for the love story.” Though frankly I thought the love story needed only about half the number of Jane Austen references. It made me realize, though, that Science Is Relevant to my work on The Daisy Chain, so I’m excited about that.
NOM NOM SCIENCE. Oh you crazy Victorians.
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. This is a book that, on paper, I should be crazy about. Angry girl can see faeries, does not want to be their Summer Queen, tells the Summer King where he can stick it, has actual interactions with significant female characters, and works out a compromise so that Things Turn Out Okay? AWESOME. Except on paper is the only way I love this book--somehow, I simply didn’t connect with the characters or the writing.
Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl. If you thought this book was creepy before, in a post-Breaking Dawn world IT’S EVEN CREEPIER. Our were-owl protagonist, Owl, embodies the creepiest aspects of both Edward and Jacob, all the while narrating her story in a funny, unselfconsciously pompous voice that made me love her. ALSO: CREEPY.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin. I know, I know. YA Realism and I have a thorny relationship wherein I usually hate all the characters and complain that nothing ever happens, and YA Realism gazes at me tearfully and says, "But I am full of delicious angst, what is wrong with you?". I actually quite liked Memoirs, though. I’m almost tempted to watch DareKiss, because wow, inserting race into the story would be SO INTERESTING.
Currently reading:
The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia McKillip. So far it is exquisite, as are all her books. As has been mentioned in various reviews, it rehashes quite a lot of territory from Riddle-Master. This is fine by me. Riddle-Master is my favorite of her books, having a plot that makes sense and characters that have stuck with me for a good fifteen years. If she wants to write another book about music, poetry, riddles, plains, towers, latent magic, and grad school, all with a healthy dose of dysfunction? BRING IT ON.
***
Congratulations to all the YALSA winners! I woke up yesterday just in time to catch most of the live broadcast from ALA Midwinter in San Diego. I have actually read almost none of the award-winners, though many of the nominees have been on my radar for a while now.
This is because I have been busy reading other things:
Charles & Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman. A fascinating and intimate look at the Darwins’ marriage, which seems to have been a study in Making It Work. Written for middle grade and YA-ish readers. As the starred review in The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books says, “Come for the science, stay for the love story.” Though frankly I thought the love story needed only about half the number of Jane Austen references. It made me realize, though, that Science Is Relevant to my work on The Daisy Chain, so I’m excited about that.
NOM NOM SCIENCE. Oh you crazy Victorians.
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. This is a book that, on paper, I should be crazy about. Angry girl can see faeries, does not want to be their Summer Queen, tells the Summer King where he can stick it, has actual interactions with significant female characters, and works out a compromise so that Things Turn Out Okay? AWESOME. Except on paper is the only way I love this book--somehow, I simply didn’t connect with the characters or the writing.
Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl. If you thought this book was creepy before, in a post-Breaking Dawn world IT’S EVEN CREEPIER. Our were-owl protagonist, Owl, embodies the creepiest aspects of both Edward and Jacob, all the while narrating her story in a funny, unselfconsciously pompous voice that made me love her. ALSO: CREEPY.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin. I know, I know. YA Realism and I have a thorny relationship wherein I usually hate all the characters and complain that nothing ever happens, and YA Realism gazes at me tearfully and says, "But I am full of delicious angst, what is wrong with you?". I actually quite liked Memoirs, though. I’m almost tempted to watch DareKiss, because wow, inserting race into the story would be SO INTERESTING.
Currently reading:
The Bards of Bone Plain by Patricia McKillip. So far it is exquisite, as are all her books. As has been mentioned in various reviews, it rehashes quite a lot of territory from Riddle-Master. This is fine by me. Riddle-Master is my favorite of her books, having a plot that makes sense and characters that have stuck with me for a good fifteen years. If she wants to write another book about music, poetry, riddles, plains, towers, latent magic, and grad school, all with a healthy dose of dysfunction? BRING IT ON.
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 10:53 pm (UTC)Is Owl in Love TOO creepy for me? Because WERE-OWL. INTRIGUING.
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Date: 2011-01-12 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-13 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 10:21 pm (UTC)