Shivery

When I was a teenager, I didn't read too many YA books. Call me a snob, but my attitude was: "I need to be challenged in my reading; forget these 'teen' books--give me Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the classics. I AM ABOVE YA BOOKS." (Obviously I've done a complete turnaround now--I'm all about YA books now and as for the classics, I try to read one once a month.)


My stuck-up attitude was probably healthy for my emotional growth because dang, if I had read books like Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver when I was in high school, my whole concept of love could've been pretty romanticized and unrealistic.

First up: gorgeous cover, isn't it? The font inside the book matched the deep, dark blue from the cover. Lovely.

Shiver is rich in atmosphere: fall creeping into winter, girl and boy in love. Briefly, the story is about Grace, who was bitten by wolves as a child. But a wolf with yellow eyes saved her from being devoured. For six years, Grace sees her wolf. Then she meets a boy with yellow eyes--and you've got yourself a nice little angsty love story featuring werewolves.

Obviously, it's LOVE the first time they speak. That's one reason why I enjoy YA--people can fall in undying-I'll-do-anything-for-you love immediately. As that's generally not too realistic, it's probably better I read that sort of book as an adult than as an impressionable teen.

Regardless, I enjoyed this light fantasy, with all its high school angst and passion. I'm definitely reading more Maggie Stiefvater.

Rating: 8/10

Thin Slices

I haven't been able to get into a good book all the past week. For now, I've been reading Billy Collins' Sailing Alone Around the Room. Lovely poetry in it, although I think I like the first book I read by him better. In this one, he seems a bit obsessed with death.

It's a gloomy, fall-ish day here in my town...just the sort of day to enjoy a poem or two. So here's two of my favorites from Sailing. "Marginalia" and "Victoria's Secret." Witty, twisty and lovely word imagery.

Utterly charming

I was so tired at work today (thank the Lord for the Starbucks in my office building) because I stayed up too late last night finishing the most charming and adorable book. I simply had to finish it! Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is a rare book, a sequel that's even better than the first.

The Penderwicks sisters are back home after their wonderful summer vacation. Fall is about to start and with it, a change that will rock the Penderwicks forever. (Hmm, that sounds super-dramatic, but it's really not that sort of book. It's just sweet.) Their father will start dating again.

About four years ago, the girls' mother died from cancer. Since then, it's been the four girls and their professor father, happily chugging along. But when a certain letter forces Mr. P into the dating scene, the girls aren't too happy and concoct a "Save-Daddy-Plan," which of course, has disastrous results. (At one point, Mr. P says he's going off on a date with "Marianne Dashwood." That name sounded so familiar and after 30 minutes of on-and-off-thinking about it, I realized who she was and laughed. Again, charming.) The sisters all have their own separate plot lines which are never confusing and weave together nicely. It's a witty book, with clever, funny little sentences for adults. I was giggling out loud at certain paragraphs. (I can't find the page, but it's when Jane and Skye are talking about a poem of Jane's that Skye turned in as hers and the teacher just can't quite believe it's Skye's.)

Birdsall says she wanted to write a book that is the sort of book she used to read when she was a little girl. I'd say she did a fabulous job.

Rating: 10/10

Fall is here

Well, fall is almost here. Today Hurricaine Ike hit Northern Ohio, making the weather wet and warm. But I know fall is coming! After reading Deanna Raybourn's Blog A Go-Go post where she talked about her perfect read for fall, I had to imitate her. Her pick for fall is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Now that I've read it, I have to agree.

From delicious autumn feasts to the very essence of a New England fall, this is definitely a book for September through November. It's a VERY short read. It's also filled with subtle humor and like I said, great atmosphere. Now, time to find more fall reads...