Juli, Stargirl & Alaska - three girls who will move you

Flipped, Stargirl and Looking For Alaska - three books that each feature a remarkable, larger-than-life girl, who stands out from the crowd, and has a life-long impact on those around her.

Flipped by Wendelin van Draanen is about two teens, Bryce & Juli, who have lived next to each other since they were 7.  Juli fell in love with Bryce the moment she saw him.  Bryce on the other hand wishes Juli would just leave him alone.  The story is told in both Juli's and Bryce's voices, in alternating chapters.  This in itself is entertaining - the different take the two of them have on the same situation is quite enlightening.  Over the years, Bryce and Juli both come to realise that sometimes first impressions aren't so reliable.  This is a lovely story, filled with humour, well developed characters and a certain truth about it.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli tells the story of Stargirl Caraway, an unconventional girl who finds a deep and rewarding joy in making those around her happy.  When she starts attending Mica High (having previously been home schooled) she quickly becomes popular, mostly as a result of her uniqueness.  However, it doesn't take long before she gets offside with the in-crowd, and she is shunned.  The story is narrated by Leo, who is fascinated by Stargirl, and wants to understand what makes her tick.  Leo finds it increasingly difficult to be associated with Stargirl, especially once he too feels the effects of being shunned by the crowd.  

Stargirl provides an interesting commentary on how humans (and no, not just those of the teenage variety) tend to feel happier if they are part of a groups.  And how unpleasant we can often be to those who we don't consider part of 'our group'.

Looking For Alaska by John Green has found a place in my all-time-fave-books list.  This was a debut novel but what a remarkable piece of writing.  The story is narrated by Miles as he transfers to a new boarding school, where he falls in with a group of teens  lead by the enigmatic Alaska.  The story is told in two parts - Before, and After.  Before focuses on the group and their various pranks and antics; After focuses on how the group deals with a tragedy that befalls them.

The characters are skilfully drawn, and achingly real.  It has humour, and pathos, and love, and lust, and tragedy.  It had me laughing as I read one page, then crying just a few short pages later. I loved it.  I felt quite lost when I finished reading it - I didn't want to leave these characters.

These three books are probably often considered to be "coming of age" books, and to be fair, they are aimed at different age groups (Flipped more for the tweens and younger teens; Looking For Alaska young adult and adult; with Stargirl falling somewhere in between) - and yet, as an adult, I found each of them left a little piece with me that I will keep and continue to reflect on.

Read. This. Book.

I recently finished reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.  It was one of those ones that had been on my list-of-books-I-must-read (which is so long it is practically a book itself) - but I always ended up choosing something else off the list instead.

But wow - what a book!  It is now officially one of the best books I have ever read.  It is beautifully written, second to none.  It is one of those very few books that could be considered life changing.

I never believed I would have sympathy for Death as a character - but I did.  And as for Liesel - I became so caught up in her life - I couldn't stop thinking about her even when I wasn't reading it (my apologies to my work colleagues for the numerous slip ups over the past week or so).

Beg, borrow, buy, dare I say steal, a copy of this book.  You will not regret it.

Review: How To Clean A Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page

How To Clean A Hippopotamus is a children's non fiction book looking at symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom.

What a great book!  The information is presented in an entertaining and easily accessible manner, and the amazingly detailed paper collage illustrations are a delight in themselves.

This is a book which would be read again and again, not just as a valuable resource, but for the sheer delight in looking at the fantastic illustrations and reading the animals' stories.

I haven't read any other books by this husband and wife author/illustrator team - but I am certainly on the look out for more now.  Brilliant.

Highly recommended.

Review: Trigger by Susan Vaught

What would drive a young man who seems to have everything - top sportsman, popularity, girls, great grades, a bright future - to kill himself?  Jersey Hatch's parents don't know, his best mate doesn't know, and Jersey himself doesn't know.  But he is determined to find out.  You see - Jersey's suicide attempt failed.  And now, after a year of rehabilitation, scarred, blind in one eye, with a limp, a non-responsive left hand and permanent brain damage...Jersey is deemed ready to go home.  To carry on with his life.

Jersey can't remember anything about the year before he shot himself in the head.  And everything he thinks, tends to come straight out of his mouth, so he blurts out random words like wench, frog farts, sock - this makes most social situations awkward, to say the least.

As Jersey searches for the answer to his burning question, he learns to cope with life in the real world again, and he begins to understand the fallout his actions had on his friends and family.

Susan Vaught weaves a powerful and moving story, tackling a difficult subject with skill and humour.  It will stay with you long after you finish it.

My thanks to Amanda who kept telling me "you must read Trigger, it's really really good"  Thanks Amanda, you were right!

Trigger was also published under the alternate title Blowout

Review: Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver is basically an overcome-the-odds-love story about a girl and a boy, except that the boy is sometimes a wolf. It is funny, and sad, and romantic, but far from soppy.  The narration switches between Grace and Sam, maintaining a nice balance between the two main characters. Both characters grow and develop throughout the story, and the ending leaves you wanting to know more.  The story seems to have a really earthy feel to it - there is a strong emphasis on the seasons, and many of the descriptions are drawn in sounds and smells as well as images.  You'll be yearning for the great outdoors while reading it!

I love this cover - and I love that
the blue has been carried
through to the color of the text - nice.

One of the best things about this story is that Grace is a strong female character with a backbone, not willing to be run rough-shod over by a bunch of werewolves.

The only thing I found that didn't quite gel was that Grace states she had never really been interested in boys until Sam, but she proves herself to be an accomplished flirt.  Maybe that just serves to illustrate that they really are soul mates, and totally at ease and in love, but to me it just didn't sit quite right.

Shiver is the first of a trilogy.  The second book Linger has just been released, and debuted at number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading Maggie Stiefvater's blog - check it out - she is a woman of many talents.  Need another example?  Here is her book trailer for Linger, not only did she create the stop motion herself, she composed the music too.

A sure fire way to banish your bad mood

Anyone who has ever watched young children playing battle games with their toys will laugh out loud at the hilarious toy battle scenes in Shark vs Train (written by Chris Barton, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld).

Each page reveals a different contest - from roasting marshmallows (which Train wins easily) to trick-or-treating (Shark's clown costume is very effective at pulling in the treats: "the clown is very hungry") to playing video games (where Train comments that it "sure would help if we had thumbs").

The illustrations are vibrant, full of action, and the facial expressions are hilarious.

I'd suggest this book for 4-8 year olds, but don't let that restrict you - both my children (aged 10 & 8) thoroughly loved reading it aloud using all sorts of crazy voices as the battles got more intense (between Shark & Train that is!).

Big Rabbit's Bad Mood  (written by Ramona Badescu, illustrated by Delphine Durand) is another great book, with hilariously quirky illustrations.

Big Rabbit has a bad mood with attitude, and it won't leave him alone.  Everything Big Rabbit tries to do is ruined by the "big, bad, hairy mood that stuck to him like glue".  Children will easily relate to this persistently annoying bad mood that lies about on the sofa, eats chips and leaves its boogers on the carpet!  Eventually Big Rabbit takes charge and shows his bad mood the door.

This is a sure fire hit with 3-6 year olds, and anyone else who has ever had a bad mood with attitude.

A chilling tale

I've been doing a bit of reading lately - shock, horror, I know!  Over the last few months I seem to have been attached at the fingers to my PC, and consequently have done very little reading of actual paper books.  But a long weekend away, coupled with no internet access (I was actually quite concerned that I would go into withdrawal mode) gave me the kickstart I needed to start whittling down the tower of books I have on my bedside table.

First up was Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale.  

Atwood creates a terrifying and yet totally believable dystopian world – where the population growth rate has fallen well into the negatives and the ability to conceive and deliver a healthy child has become a rare commodity.  Women have become objects, and have been divided into various classes: wives; handmaids; marthas; econowives; and unwomen.  The handmaids are proven fertile women and, during their reproductive years, they are valued commodities.

The book takes the form of a retrospective journal, as Offred, a handmaid, looks back on the events of her life and reminisces about her life ‘before’.  I am ashamed to admit that it took me a good two thirds of the book to realise that each handmaid’s assigned name actually stems from the household they have been placed with – so the narrator Offred, is of Fred’s household.

The situations that Offred and other women in this society find themselves in are truly terrifying.  But it is the notes that form the final chapter that are the most chilling.  Without giving too much away, Offred’s journal is discovered, and forms the basis of a series of lectures by experts on the now/then defunct society.  As I read these ‘lectures’ – I was reminded of how much we need to be aware of humanity’s past  – and how important it is for us to learn from our mistakes.

This is an important, thought provoking book - read it.