Beastly by Alex Flinn

This book has been out for quite awhile now so I'm sure everyone has read it, but I had not until this past weekend. I really enjoyed Alex Flinn's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I will always think of the "true" Beauty and the Beast as the Disney version just because I saw it so many times as a kid, then when it went to live theater, and you know, all the great music. But, it's great fun reading different versions of it too.

I particularly liked the chat room aspect of it and getting to know the other fairy tale characters. Poor SilentMaid. Froggie had me cracking up, and Kyle/Adrian was a great beast. He didn't get too sappy for me and even at the end, when he finally understood what true beauty meant, I liked how there was still a sixteen year old kid in his mannerisms.

I also really liked how Flinn worked in some of the past legends of Beauty and the Beast. It was all very sly and humorous and didn't detract from her own retelling of the story. If there ever was a love story with a plethora of retellings, Beauty and the Beast is it.

I was not sure how I would like the continued first person point of view from just Alex's viewpoint, but the more I read, the more I liked. His fall from grace was certainly complete but there was some humanity in him and it came out just when his human shell was changed forever. I feel like Lindy got the short end of the stick when it comes to characterization. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but this book was definitely more Beastly than beauty. It was meant to be Adrian's story, and it was. And, even while I felt that Lindy and Adrian's relationship was strong, it was actually the growing friendship between Adrian, Will, and Magda that moved me the most. That was the heart of the story for me.

All in all, I enjoyed this story. I sped through it in an afternoon. I'm looking forward to the movie, even as I kind of get a sinking feeling that it will not live up to the book. At least Neil Patrick Harris is in it though, I love him.

Cover changes I don't like

One of my absolute favorite books of last year was The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks . I have been waiting forever for the paperback to come out because I tend not to buy hardcovers. Unfortunately, I hate the new cover.



It just does not have the character of the first. On the other hand, teens may find this new cover more appealing. I think it dumbs down some of the content of the book honestly.



I may just order the hardback just so I can have the cover I prefer. I know it's the actual story that matters most, but I just really like this cover. The bassett symbol is so aptly displayed.

Miscellaneous

1. I won a contest! I won a copy of Maureen Johnson's Suite Scarlett from The Compulsive Reader. Thank you!! I'm really excited.

2. I saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince today. I wrote up a review in my personal LJ but I'll just suffice it to say I thought it was ok. I really enjoyed all the humor but there were some things that felt so off that I had a hard time with it. I think I will like this movie more on repeated viewings. That's how it went with OoTP anyway.

3. Of the movie trailers I saw, at least four out of the six were book based. Sherlock Holmes (LOOKS GOOD!), The Lightning Thief (again, looks awesome!), Where the Wild Things Are, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and New Moon. I love movie trailers so frankly, they could show a dozen of them before the movie and I'd be happy.

4. My library finally got in Sea Change by Aimee Friedman so I'll be reading that this weekend when I find a spare moment. I'm currently finishing up Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich. Despite this series not actually moving forward at all with its characters, I still find the hijinks of Stephanie Plum, Grandma Mazur, and Lula amusing. It's not summer without a new Stephanie Plum book.

5. My Open Mic programs this week were a success! Some a bigger success at certain branches, but I had teens stand up and read poetry, do interpretive speeches, sing, stand up comedy, magic tricks. Needless to say I was very impressed by all the teens brave enough to perform. So many talented teens in my area! If you're thinking of doing this type of program, I highly recommend getting someone to emcee it. If you can afford it, maybe a local celebrity like my library did. We hired a local weatherman known for doing open mic events, and he really made the teens laugh, got them warmed up and kept the event from having awkward lulls. I was very grateful to him.

6. This week, it's henna tattoos, then next week it is the final summer program which I just cannot believe. Where on earth has the summer gone??? Still two weeks left after that for the reading program but programs themselves will be on hiatus until September so I can recover a bit, lol. It's been such a fantastic summer, I hate to see it end.

Money Well Spent

Well, it was pay day this week which just almost certainly means that I need to buy some books. And I did.

"Welcome Back Potter!" It's the latest copy of EW which was the originally reason I went to Barnes and Noble this weekend. I keep meaning to actually get a subscription to EW but I never do. However, when some friends told me this was out I high-tailed it over there to buy it. I think I have all their Potter-related covers. I am SO EXCITED for this movie. As much as I really want to go to a Midnight showing this week at 12:01 am, I'm not going to because I usually have to get up early for work. However, I'm off this coming Friday and so I'm going to the latest showing Thursday night. Will be avoiding any spoilers until I see it myself.

Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. I first heard about this book at Green Bean Teen Queen's blog and I knew I would have to get it. I adore anything Jane Austen related, and in particular, when it relates to Pride and Prejudice, my most favorite book of all time, well it was a given I was going to buy it. The synopsis for those interested:

To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips...conks her head...and wakes up in the year 1815!

There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily's family, Callie warms to them—particularly to Emily's cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad arrogant.

But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win Alex's heart, before her time in the past is up?

More Cabot than Ibbotson, Prada and Prejudice is a high-concept romantic comedy about finding friendship and love in the past in order to have happiness in the present.

Sounds good right?? I think it's going to be an excellent story. And I like the cover a lot.

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr. I know, I know, I'm really behind the game with this book. It's one I've always meant to read and then got pushed aside for other books. I've returned it to the library numerous times and when I saw it at B&N, I decided to just buy it. Not that it will get read any sooner but it might!

Good stuff all around, even if my wallet is squirming a bit.

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han is utterly fantastic! It just made me feel good reading it. The yearning between Belly and Conrad, the discovery of finally being seen, whether by boys or by parents, and the endless feeling of summer. All the possibilities and hopes that summer represents as a teenager are perfectly encapsulated in this story. This is a book you can read during the dead of winter when you're 75 and still feel that irresistible wonder of summer when you're fifteen turning sixteen. It was just that well described and written. For example:

The idea of tanning sounds so fun in theory. Laying out, soaking up sun and sipping on soda, falling asleep like a fat cat. But then the actual act of it is kind of tedious and boring. And hot. I would always rather be floating in an ocean, catching sun that way, than laying down sweating in the sun.

That's it exactly! I mean, seriously we all know this about tanning, but at sixteen I'm sure more than a few of us were out there in the sun, trying to capture that perfect summer tan despite how boring it truly could be.

Belly is a girl who has always been the outsider amongst her brother and their summer housemates, Conrad (the crush) and Jeremiah (the best friend). But this summer is definitely different because Belly has blossomed and everyone notices. But as she discovers, this doesn't make her any less of an outsider than before. Belly is a bit self-obsessed, but in a good healthy way, the way you are when you're sixteen. So, that being said, she doesn't necessarily see what is going on around her at the summer house, despite the obvious clues I picked up on. But her cluelessness was honest and realistic. After all, you're only a teenager once and you only experience that really perfect summer just once.

And can I say, I too fell a bit love in Conrad despite his rather boorish behavior in the course of the story. Jeremiah would be the easy choice, as would Cam, the guy Belly meets. But is easy always right? That doesn't mean that difficult is always right either.

I really enjoyed the way Jenny Han captured summer for me. I've never had an ocean summer in my life. Lake summers, yes, but the beach is a different thing altogether I think. But you know what, I was there exactly in Belly's beach summer. It was real and I could practically feel the salt on my skin. Perhaps the descriptions were a bit overdone, but they worked because summer is always a bit more grandiose than the other season.

If you're looking for a great summer read right now, I say pick this book up. It only took me about two hours to read it once I started. Fast reading, pleasurable reading, and just good stuff! I wish I could add this to my summer display at the library, but I know there are requests for it. I think the cover makes this story seem more frivolous than it is. It is a really great story and I've already got Shug at hand to try Jenny Han's first book.

And... Jenny Han is currently writing a sequel for the book! I'm excited for more Belly and maybe, Conrad.

Graphics and Manga

Another area of YA reading I need to better focus on is graphic novels and manga. I just don't read enough of it to be able to do the reader's advisory I should. I do have a few favorites and things I am reading currently right now however that I thought I would share.

Sand Chronicles by Hinako Ashihara. This is one of my very favorite manga series to date. I first heard about it on Dear Author and I've been hooked ever since then. Probably because it is a romance more than anything. It's a love triangle but it's done so well! I like both of the boys Ann is interested in and I don't know who I would actually like to see her end up with, though I think I can guess who it will be. Plus, the artwork is fantastic! Simply gorgeous. I'm really sad Shojo Beat is ending since I won't be able to read more of Sand Chronicles every month.

The Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. I first heard about this series at Green Bean Teen Queen and I have to say, I was hooked in very easily! He is a great character and I really like the mix of reality and the mystical. It works really well. And ok, Michael Cera will be starring in the film version and I just have a huge crush on him even though he's you know, younger. I think this is a great graphic series for teens and adults.

Sorcerers and Secretaries by Amy Kim Ganter. A romance type story again, but the artwork is fantastic and Josh is a total cutie. I love Nicole's story of Ellon also. A few years old now I think, and only two volumes, but good reading nonetheless.







Some manga series that are really popular at my library right now include:

High School Debut
Rosario + Vampire
Naruto (still! I cannot believe how popular this manga series still is.)
Bizenghast
Sand Chronicles (which makes me happy because I recommended to my library to buy this series)

The tweens and younger still are enjoying:
Dragon Ball Z
Pokemon
Transformers

I always wonder if these series will ever not be popular. More new readers every year I guess keep the demand high.

There are many more. The YA return cart is always filled with manga (more so than graphic novels). I have such a bad memory for titles however it's hard for me to remember them when I'm not at work. I need to read more manga. I know I do, it's just not my favorite medium as much as I try to enjoy it. Does anyone else have that problem>

Romance and YA

As I might have mentioned before, I love romance in books. Well, I particularly love romance in YA. So, when I can find a great relationship that is fun, complex, interesting, and believable, I'm over the moon. Here are a few of my favorite YA romance stories. The stories are not necessarily romance stories, but the relationships are vital to the storyline.

Perfect You by Elizabeth Scott. This is an author who can write relationships. Family relationships, romantic relationships, frenemies, whatever it may be, Elizabeth Scott can do it and she can do it believably. Perfect You is still my favorite of her books to date. There's just something about Kate and Will's clandestine kisses and is blatant interest in her. So right and so awkwardly high school. If you haven't read this book, do it.

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler. I just really liked Froggy and Virginia. The opening scene set the stage for their flourishing romance. And with the surrounding issues in the book, well this ended up just being a great relationship and issues story.

The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. Mia and Michael... talk about one of my favorite YA couples. I am a huge fan of Meg Cabot. Even though I think most of her female characters tend to blend together from book to book, I just really enjoyed watching Mia and Michael navigate their relationship. I was very unhappy when they broke up needless to say. I think Cabot has a way with the teenage girl's mind and I just love reading her irreverent humor and fun stories.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Taylor and Jonah. Guh. LOVELY romance. Intense and explosive, passionate and protective. These two had to really let their barriers down amidst an environment of distrust and half-truths. Taylor is no pushover but I really liked how these two eventually laid themselves bare and exposed all their vulnerabilities. Plus, Jonah was a very sexy YA character. I felt a bit squicky saying that, but he is.

Ok, I know there are more but my brain is on computer overload right now. But those are the few that have come to mind right away. But definitely check out some of the stories. These authors know how to convey love and friendship just perfectly, or well, as imperfectly as those emotions are.

Contest alert:

The Story Siren is running a contest for the third book in Jennifer Banash's Elite series, Simply Irresistible. Be sure to enter because not only will you win the third book, you'll win the complete Elite series AND Season 1 of Gossip Girl. Awesome contest, right?

You can view the trailer for the new book right here:



I've only read the first book in this series, I will admit, but I definitely want to catch up. I really like the trailer also. Lots of fun!