The Clockwork Three: A Review

When Giuseppe finds the green violin, he doesn’t think it will help him escape. He doesn’t think anything can help him get away from his ruthless padrone and back to his home and his siblings in Italy–certainly not a violin, even if it is so much finer than the one he usually plays on street corners every day.

Frederick doesn’t need to escape anything, but he must become self-sufficient–of that he is certain. Being apprenticed to Master Branch is fine for now. But the sooner Frederick can complete his clockwork man, the sooner he can become a journeyman. The sooner that happens the sooner he can have his own shop–his past at the workhouse left far behind.

Hannah has already given up so much she scarcely knows what to want. Since her father’s stroke she has had to leave school and take work as a maid. Her family is just scraping by on her meager salary. When Hannah hears talk of a secret treasure, she starts to wonder–could it be the way back to her old life? If she can find it can she really solve all of her family’s problems?

Giuseppe, Frederick and Hannah don’t know each other. Under normal circumstances they might never have met. But soon the magic of the green violin and other strange happenings bring these three children into each others lives. Together they might solve all of their problems and make their dreams come true–if they can learn to trust each other and themselves along the way in The Clockwork Three (2010) by Matthew J. Kirby.

The Clockwork Three is Kirby’s first novel.

This book is an interesting blend of realism and fantasy, adventure and steampunk. Kirby weaves the elements together seamlessly creating a city so real it is easy to forget that the backdrop of this story is fictional.

The story takes a sudden turn near the middle of the story as some of those fantasy and steampunk elements manifest. They work and they add to the story, but part of the semi-realistic charm of the story is lost in favor of more fantastical elements. Perhaps because this turn appears so late in the story some aspects of the plots resolution felt rushed or abrupt although still satisfying after a fashion.

Kirby’s writing is particularly excellent at the beginning of the story as he subtly brings the children together in chance encounters until all of their stories overlap. The writing is atmospheric and often quite charming.

Possible Pairings: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, Clockwork by Phillip Pullman, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
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Enchanted Ivy: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Lily Carter’s future is at Princeton University. Her grandfather went to Princeton. Going to Princeton would allow Lily to move away from home without feeling guilt about not taking care of her mother. It’s the perfect school. Most importantly, Lily desperately wants to follow in Grandpa’s footsteps to make him and her mother proud.

Turns out her chance at Princeton might come sooner than she thinks when Lily accompanies her grandfather and mother to Princeton Reunions weekend where, thanks to Grandpa’s connections, Lily has a chance to take the top secret, super exclusive, Legacy Test. Passing the test means claiming what Grandpa calls her destiny. Oh, and it also means automatic acceptance to Princeton.

The only problem is that instead of filling in multiple choice bubbles or writing an essay, Lily has to find the Ivy Key. She has no idea what it looks like or even what it is. She has no idea where to start.

Still, Lily starts on the path to the Ivy Key. A path that leads Lily to talking gargoyles, a mysterious boy with orange and black striped hair, demonic library shelves, and magic. Lots of magic. Because Princeton isn’t a normal school and Lily might not be a normal girl.

If Lily can get to the bottom of Princeton’s secrets, she might also find answers about her mother’s illness and her family’s hazy past, she might even find her own place at Princeton in Enchanted Ivy (2010) by Sarah Beth Durst.

I loved Enchanted Ivy. Truly loved it. It’s a perfect fantasy with an original premise, a great plot and top notch world building. As a girl who once asked for a gargoyle for Christmas* I especially loved the gargoyles in the story which, according to Durst herself, are all really at Princeton–how cool is that?

Gargoyles aside Enchanted Ivy is a strong story with appealing fantasy elements and truly delightful characters on every page. Lily is an authentic and likable heroine at every stage of her journey. To call Tye** a wonderful addition to the story is a vast understatement. Durst’s writing is complex, subtle and a real pleasure to read.

In addition to being a fun fantasy, Enchanted Ivy is a clever spin on the usual college admission woes seen in realistic YA novels. At the same time it has elements of mystery and action. The narrative asks hard questions with wit and aplomb. And there’s a whole section that takes place in a library. Seriously, what more do you want? Go, read this book, right now!

*No, really. I did. Here he is sitting on my signed copy of Enchanted Ivy:

You could say this book is gargoyle approved. Or Miss Print approved. Either would work.

**Tye may or may not be the aforementioned mysterious boy with orange and black striped hair. . . . Okay, I lied, Tye is totally the aforementioned mysterious boy with orange and black striped hair.

You can also read my exclusive interview with Sarah Beth Durst.

Possible Pairings: White Cat by Holly Black, City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel

Exclusive Bonus Content: Another reviewer raised the issue that the Princeton library in the book uses the Dewey Decimal classification system instead of Library of Congress. (The actual Princeton seems to use an amalgam of Library of Congress and classification systems made specifically for the Princeton libraries.) This change did not bother me for several reasons: first it’s a fantasy, second LoC is way hard to navigate, and third I just like Dewey better. It is a superior system. If you don’t think agree at least now you’ve been warned.
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Enchanted Ivy

The Beautiful Between: A Review

Connelly Sternin is good at pretending. She’s especially good at imagining things and, sometimes, at making things up. It’s easy when she has spent most of her life convincing everyone at her school that her parents are divorced when really her dad died and Connelly has no idea how.

But it’s okay. Sometimes Connelly thinks of herself as a kind of Rapunzel–a princess trapped in a tower watching life through a window. Maybe she’s being punished, living in the tower. Or maybe it’s protection from a secret too painful to talk about.

Pretending is easier than actually being involved anyway. It’s easier to watch Jeremy Cole walk through life like some kind of crown prince instead of talking to him. It’s easy to marvel at his little sister Kate and how perfect everything is for her and her brother.

Except maybe things aren’t so easy. For either of them.

As Connelly starts an unexpected friendship with Jeremy she learns that appearances can be deceiving and perfect doesn’t always last forever. As she learns more about her own past and Jeremy’s uncertain future, Connelly realizes that the truth might be harsher than pretending–but it’s also the only thing that can help her move on in The Beautiful Between (2010) by Alyssa B. Sheinmel.

The Beautiful Between is Sheinmel’s first novel.

The Beautiful Between is an interesting book because parts of it were really engaging. And some parts were not. The main problem is that the book is poorly summarized on the jacket. The plot there has next to nothing to do with the real plot. I tried to be more accurate in my summary here, but this one is hard to pin down partly because it is so subtle.

Sheinmel’s writing has moments of brilliance interspersed with a plot that is sometimes predictable and often simply too short (the whole book is 182 pages). In some ways the story finishes where I wish it could have began because I wanted to hear more about Connelly, Jeremy, and what the future had in store for them.

Other aspects of the novel felt strange. The smoking motif felt incongruous in a book written in 2011 although I did know kids who smoked in high school–probably everyone does. I didn’t love that Connelly smoked just to be close to the boy. Similarly the extended fairy tale metaphor was interesting–it was one of the main reasons I picked up the novel honestly–but it didn’t really make sense with the plot. It worked but it didn’t need to be there.

Ultimately The Beautiful Between is a story about friendship, loss and how to survive both. It is complex and subtle even if some elements didn’t work perfectly. I look forward to picking up Sheinmel’s next novel to see how she has grown as a writer because, really, a lot of this book is very promising.

Possible Pairings: The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd, The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron, Drawing the Ocean by Carolyn MacCullough. The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Beautiful Between

The Wish Stealers: A (Rapid Fire) Review

The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas (2010)

This is a cute story about a girl named Griffin Penshine who loves to wish. That is until an evil wish stealer cons her into accepting a box of cursed pennies. Griffin has to return all of the stolen wish pennies or risk becoming a wish stealer herself.

I liked this story. The optimistic, small town vibe was charming and Griffin really is an adorable heroine. The story dragged a bit in the middle as Griffin flounders with how, exactly, to return wishes that were stolen years and years ago. There is a lot going on in the story between Griffin adjusting to her new school and the sixth grade (both of which were handled realistically), waiting for her mom to have Griffin’s baby brother or sister, worrying about her sick grandmother, AND working on a science project with the cutest boy in the sixth grade. Everything is handled well but the sheer amount of plot prevents anything from being looked at too thoroughly.

This is probably just me, but I also wasn’t totally comfortable with Griffin trying to reunite her friend Garrett with his absent father. As a child of a single parent I was uncomfortable with Griffin seeing Garrett’s lack of a dad as something to “fix” even if she had the best intentions and totally meant well.

That said this is a charming story with a great message. Who doesn’t love a book about the power of wishing?
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The Lonely Hearts Club: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Penny Lane Bloom is done with boys. Love might be all you need, but Penny has her doubts. Especially when the dating pool is limited to the losers, players, jerks and wannabes otherwise known as the male population of McKinley High School.

After a summer romance gone wrong once again leaves Penny miserable because of a guy she decides to call it quits. No more boys. No more dating. At least until the end of high school. Taking inspiration from the only men who never let her down, Penny decides to start her own anti-dating club: The Lonely Hearts Club, total members: one.

But when her friends join and the girls at school hear about the Club, Penny finds herself at the center of attention as news of her stance on boys and her club spread throughout the school.

As Penny builds a community of strong, capable girls she might even realize that some boys–even if they aren’t John, Paul, George, or Ringo–might be okay (and maybe even worth dating) in The Lonely Hearts Club (2010) by Elizabeth Eulberg.

Everything about Eulberg’s debut novel* The Lonely Hearts Club is charming from the cover to the delightful plot, not to mention the Beatles motif throughout the novel.

Penny is a clever, authentic narrator. Readers will love her frank tone and her humility as her Club morphs from an angry declaration against all boys to an important force for good at her high school. Penny’s journey throughout the story both as leader of the Lonely Hearts Club and as a girl who has been burned by one too many boys is realistic and well-written.

What really sets this book apart and makes it so wonderful is that the book is literally filled with strong female characters. In fact, that’s kind of the whole point as Penny and the other Club members learn to focus on themselves and put their own interests first instead of focusing on boys. In short The Lonely Hearts Club is really the perfect blend of old fashioned girl power feminism and romantic sentiment. (And it’s really fun and includes tons of Beatles references besides!)

*Previously the mastermind behind publicity for the Twilight books (and lots of other titles you would recognize), Eulberg wrote this book in 2010. She followed it up with Prom and Prejudice in 2011. She also recently announced that she was planning on pursuing her writing career full time which, as a fan of her work, is extremely exciting!

You can also visit Eulberg’s website for a full list of the Beatles’ songs mentioned in the novel. (Click on “The Beatles”)

Possible Pairings: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg**, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, The Boy Book by E. Lockhart, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

**I don’t usually list an author’s other books in possible pairings because I feel like it’s implied but I made an exception here because I think the two books, aside from both being delightful, really hit some of the same high notes and pick up the same themes and they just work well together aside from being by the same author. (Want to see what I mean? Read this review.)

Exclusive Bonus Content: Just wanted to take a moment to applaud Becky Terhune and Elizabeth B. Parisi for the fabulous jacket design here. Also props to Michael Frost for the ah-may-zing cover photo. Needless to say this is one of my favorite covers ever.

While you’re reading this, let me ask: Is going to a dance alone still really as radical as it is in this book? I went to my senior prom alone (and met a group of friends at the door). I didn’t realize it could create such a sensation in some circles. Regular readers must be seriously wondering about my high school career by now between this and my ramblings in my Ruby Oliver book reviews . . .

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: The Lonely Hearts Club

After the Kiss: A (poetic) Review

Camille isn’t impressed with her new town. It’s nothing like her old town (or the one before that, or the one before that). It’s tedious making new friends during senior year only to move on like she always does, like they all will with college around the corner. Still, she’ll put on a show and pretend it all matters while she marks time until her escape like she always does.

Until she meets Alec at a party. He isn’t the boy she left behind. But he’s here. He’s smart. He’s a poet. That’s pretty close to perfect.

Camille doesn’t want to get involved or care, not really. But when Alec kisses her out of nowhere at a party isn’t that what he’s asking for? Isn’t that the right thing to do?

Becca is in love and it’s wonderful. She sees Alec after school, on the weekends, during her free time. Being with him, being a girlfriend to his boyfriend, doesn’t leave a lot of time for other things. But Alec is enough. He’s smart. He’s a poet. He’s perfect. In fact, they’re perfect for each other.

At least, Becca thought so until Alec kisses some girl at a party.

After the kiss Becca is heartbroken, Camille is confused. In another life they might have been friends. That won’t happen now, but maybe after everything they can find themselves instead in After the Kiss (2010) by Terra Elan McVoy.

Love triangles are nothing new in young adult literature, or any literature really. But McVoy looks at this familiar situation in a new way and from all sides in this clever verse novel. Even though the book is ostensibly about a kiss and romance, it’s more than that too. Both Becca and Camille are forced to take a hard look at who they are before and after the kiss in alternating narrations in their own unique poetic styles.

Both of the characters, especially Becca for me, are authentic narrators who grow and change throughout the story. They are achingly human with moments where they are far from perfect. Still by the end of the story readers will find themselves cheering for both heroines and wondering, like the girls themselves, how things could have been different without that kiss.

After the Kiss is McVoy’s second novel. It is also a smart, smart book written in verse that is filled with emotion, humor, and even nods to other famous poets. If you are an English major or just a poetry lover After the Kiss is a must read.

Possible Pairings: Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti, A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg, Reuinted by Hilary Weisman Graham, The Boy Book by E. Lockhart, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

You can also read my exclusive interview with After the Kiss author Terra Elan McVoy!

Exclusive Bonus Content: How great is this cover? Looking at it never fails to make me happy. Brilliant design by Cara E. Petrus.

In other news: Remember today is Poem in Your Pocket Day. The poem in my pocket is this whole book. Don’t forget to carry a poem of your own in your pocket today to share!

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: After the Kiss

Real Live Boyfriends: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Ruby Oliver has been in therapy. She has gone through Reginald several times. Her ex-boyfriend has cheated on her and turned into a pod-robot. Her best friends weren’t such good friends. She has conquered bake sales, November Week and befriended a pygmy goat named Robespierre.

Some of it was hard, some of it was fun. All of it led Ruby to a new group of strange but dependable friends and, maybe more surprisingly, to a new boyfriend.

Noel is the perfect boyfriend. He’s Ruby’s real, live boyfriend and everything is perfect. At least it is for a while.

But then everything gets complicated again. Noel shuts down and shuts Ruby out. Her parents are fighting. Hutch has gone to Paris to study and do whatever retro-metal fans do in France. Megan is busy with her real live boyfriend. Things with Nora are still kind of a mess. Then Gideon shows up. Shirtless.

It’s all a mess but with little patience and a lot of mishaps Ruby might be able to survive these recent debacles, her panic attacks, and even manage to make a few lists about the whole thing in Real Live Boyfriends: Yes. Boyfriends, plural. If my life weren’t complicated, I wouldn’t be Ruby Oliver (2010) by E. Lockhart.

Real Live Boyfriends is the fourth book in the Ruby Oliver Quartet. Ruby’s earlier adventures are chronicled begining in The Boyfriend List and followed by The Boy Book and The Treasure Map of Boys.

I love reading about Ruby’s misadventures and all of her friends. Almost everything about this conclusion was spot on. My only real complaint: I wished Hutch was around more. Because he was my favorite character.

Real Live Boyfriends was the right conclusion to a really fun, sincere series. Reading through the books Ruby felt like a personal friend and it’s hard to believe her adventures are over so quickly (I only started reading the series a couple months ago). The book picks up during the summer before Ruby’s senior year and conclude during at the end of the first semester. Lockhart provides closure for Ruby’s panic attacks, her friends, her parents and even Robespierre the pygmy goat. Questions are answered about Kim, Nora, Cricket and Gideon.

It’s sad to see the end of the series but Roo fans will find a satisfying if bittersweet conclusion. Loose ends from the series are tied up while still leaving Ruby looking at a future that can be whatever she wants it to be. And knowing Ruby, you can bet it will be a bright, zany future.

Possible Pairings: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson, Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last by Susan Juby, The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott, Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

Exclusive Bonus Content: I’ve already mentioned being dubious about the new covers that show Ruby but not Ruby wearing glasses. I still feel that way. But then I noticed the Ruby on this cover is wearing white fishnets. So almost all is forgiven.

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Real Live Boyfriends: Yes. Boyfriends, plural. If my life weren’t complicated, I wouldn’t be Ruby Oliver

All You Get is Me: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Fifteen-year-old Aurora “Roar” Audley is a city girl at heart. Especially after two years living on a farm with her father under protest. Roar can’t wait for her big chance to get away from this farm girl life that she hates.

At least until a tragic accident brings Roar and her father to the center of attention in town. And brings a mysterious boy to the center of Roar’s attention.

Suddenly everything seems different. Maybe the life Roar’s been so desperate to leave behind is really the one she’s meant to have in All You Get is Me (2010) by Yvonne Prinz.

This was an interesting, quick read. Roar is likable enough but ultimately a lot of the plot elements felt superficial. Roar’s best friend Storm comes off as a cartoon. The romance angle is simplified despite all of the potential pitfalls. There is a lot going on but Prinz brings in so many elements (Roar is a photographer, her mother disappeared, she’s in young love, the lawsuit, the accident, the farm, a photography contest) that everything gets a very perfunctory treatment instead of going into more detail. At 288 pages All You Get is Me is a fairly short book and ultimately needed tighter pacing and plotting to be really compelling.

The jacket copy makes comparisons to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Which, surprisingly, does actually work. The slice of life treatment, though not as well done as Lee’s classic, does bring to mind To Kill a Mockingbird. All You Get is Me could be an interesting modern companion to that title even if it may not be quite as memorable.

Possible Pairings: To Kills a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: All You Get Is Me

Pod: A (rapid fire) Review

Pod by Stephen Wallenfels (2010)

This book was shortlisted for the 2010 Cybils which is why (as a round 2 judge) I read it.

Pod features dual story lines. One features Josh who is 15/16 in Washington state and one features Megs who is 12 in California. Both of them have to fave some MAJOR problems when aliens land. Or hover. Whatever.

I didn’t mind the dual story lines. I thought the contrast was interesting between the two locations and by the end I’m pretty sure there is some connection between the stories (as improbable and thin as it is).

The alien premise was interesting and not having any closure (why did they come? etc.) was annoying but ultimately realistic I guess.

My main problem with Pod is that I hated Josh. He is a complete jerk, totally self-absorbed and ultimately a bad caricature of just about every annoying teen stereotype I  can think of. I thought it was ridiculous how he second guessed his father at every turn with the water and food rationing. I was insanely annoyed by the ending of Josh’s storyline. It was, simply put, sloppy storytelling (and did I mention annoying?).

Megs’ storyline is less troubling because she wasn’t such an annoying character and it is clear she understands that survival was really important–unlike Josh. But she seemed a little flat (all of the characters did actually–it might have had to do with the sparse writing or maybe this one just really tried my patience). I also don’t think she sounds at all like a twelve year old.

Megs’ vocabulary includes a lot of expressions a twelve-year-old wouldn’t know. Similarly why does a child know about cracking open oysters? Why does she know about dehydration and how crying might not be the best thing when you’re already short on water? I get that her home life isn’t great but I don’t get how she would know those things or any number of other things.

I can see the appeal of the premise and the characters but for me Pod was ultimately really unsatisfying and deeply frustrating.
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Ship Breaker: A (rapid fire) Review

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)

This book was shortlisted for the 2010 Cybils which is why (as a round 2 judge) I read it.

It was also the winner of the 2011 Printz Award (given by the American Library Association to a book with high literary merit written for teens).

This book has already gotten tons of attention which is why I don’t feel bad doing a rapid fire review of it instead of a full, traditional one. It was a lot of fun to read it during the Printz announcements and I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I had expected (I thought I was burnt out on dystopian novels but this one was really interesting).

I liked the writing and the characters and I can see why it caught the Printz committee’s attention. I liked that the characters were diverse with people of all colors and cultures and even half men like Tool. I liked the writing style and the pacing. I thought the premise was interesting and there was a lot of action. I like the malleability of names, how Nailer was also Lucky Boy. I also thought the pervasive nature of luck in Nailer’s life was interesting. The family dynamics and the idea that family is what you make of it not just blood was also great.

That said, I also had some problems with the book:

I noticed there were a lot of repeated phrases like every time Nailer got hurt, something seemed to be blossoming with pain or a bright blossom of pain, etc. Which is fine–it’s a good phrase. But it started to appear A LOT.

I also thought the book got a little philosophical, not necessarily in a bad way but kind of in a “this looks like someone trying really hard to drive home a point” kind of way.

I thought the author’s world building was pretty well done but I also had a lot of unanswered questions. On the one hand I respect that the story wanted to throw readers right into the action. On the other hand there really were a lot of questions and some of them would have been easy to answer.

For  instance SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER:

(SPOILER!)When Nailer’s back gets infected Pima says Nailer needs to take pills three times a day for ten more days. But then he and Lucky Girl run away. Did Nailer take the pills with him? Did he take them on the train? If he didn’t do either of those things did the infection come back? It was a big part of the story and I would have liked to not have it dangling. Because, frankly, in real life–especially in Nailer’s lousy world–he should have died without the meds. It was weird to have that be such an obvious fact. Only to be left hanging.
(END SPOILER)

I also wanted to know more about the dynamics of Bright Sands Beach. There’s light crew and heavy crew. But are those the only options? If you aren’t crewed up are you as bad off as Sloth? What happens if you get too big for light crew but too small for heavy crew? It seemed weird that there was nothing else mentioned. Couldn’t some of them have worked at Chen’s noodle shop or something?

I also wished there was a little more about the crew tats. Like do you just keep them if you get too big for light crew (as opposed to getting thrown off)? Are there other tattoos for heavy crew?

Basically I enjoyed the book and I thought it was really interesting and deserving of all of its praise. But I was frustrated that there were not more details and background and, for me, can’t say it’s a book I absolutely loved (but I did like it).

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Sound good? Find it on Amazon: Ship Breaker