My Ramblings on The List by Siobhan Vivian

The List
By: Siobhan Vivian
Release Date: April 1, 2012
Author Website

Summary:

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two. (goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:

This was (mostly) a great book. I'll get to the mostly in a minute- let's start with the great.

High schoolers are mean. They are not always mean in a straightforward manner, sometimes it's sneaky and subversive, but there is a tendency to put certain people up on a pedastal while tearing others down. Sometimes you are on top of the world one day and at the bottom of the heap the next. Vivian captures this perfectly. We follow the 8 chosen girls as they discover they are the most beautiful, or the most ugly, girl in their grade. They each react differently, some revel in their newfound poularity and some rebel against the label they've been slapped with. Some want to hide, while others just try to get through the week without falling apart. It's all portrayed so very well. I honestly cared about each one of these girls and what they were going through. You wanted them to come out of it stronger. You wanted them to realize that they are not the label they've been given. You wanted them to all be okay. 

It was really interesting to see how each of them dealt with their situation. I could definitely see the reasoning behind the way each of them reacted, and it made it all very realistic. I also tried to imagine what I would have done in the same situation. I don't want to give too much away because I think it's worth reading and discovering for yourself. Especially when you finally realize who was making the list and why they did it. There's a reason for everything in this book and it comes together beautifully.

But.... and her comes the "mostly great" part. I was invested in these girls stories and was happy to see how the stories were wrapping up, and then I came to the sad realization that there were not enough pages to wrap up every girls story. I wanted to know how each story ended, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, or at least a hint at what might happen next. I got that for some of the girls but not all and I have to admit that it was a huge dissapointment. I felt like I was missing something. The writing was beautiful, the characters were fabulous, but the ending really left me a little hallow.

Still- this book was enjoyable and it definitely made me want to pick up more of Vivian's books.

Cover Reveal: Griffin's Storm by Darby Karchut

Who knew the start of the school year would be so hectic?? (I know, everyone already knew this.) Pardon my being totally MIA from the blog for a good month. Getting the library set up and finding my flow here at school has been a process, but I'm finally feeling like I have a grasp on it. So that means I'm back!

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For my return post I'll be sharing the cover for an upcoming book that I can't wait to get my hands on, Griffin's Storm. This is the third book in the series and I absolutely loved the first two books (see here and here to find out why). So what does cover number 3 look like? Well, it's a change from the first two, but I think it's pretty awesome.

So what will Griffin be facing in Griffin's Storm?

For centuries, there have been rumors about a lowly caste of supernatural beings known as the Terrae Angeli. Armed with the power to control Earth, Fire, Wind and Water, these warriors and their apprentices clandestinely serve as guardians for humans in danger.

An old enemy returns. A new alliance is formed. And Griffin finds himself in the eye of the storm when an ancient racial hatred is set loose, jeopardizing the very existence of the Terrae Angeli.

Once again, the teen guardian angel is forced to battle his worst nightmare. But this time, Griffin comes back swinging. With a vengeance.

After all, an eye for an eye...

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I don't know about everyone else, but I'm excited! Storm comes out this December, so you have time to catch up to this great series. For more info about the series or the author Darby Karchut, check out her webpage.

My Ramblings on Supergirl Mixtapes by Meagan Brothers

Supergirl Mixtapes
By: Meagan Brothers
Release Date: April 24, 2012

Summary:

After years of boredom in her rural South Carolina town, Maria is thrilled when her father finally allows her to visit her estranged artist mother in New York City. She’s ready for adventure, and she soon finds herself immersed in a world of rock music and busy streets, where new people and ideas lie around every concrete corner. This is the freedom she’s always longed for—and she pushes for as much as she can get, skipping school to roam the streets, visit fancy museums, and flirt with the cute clerk at a downtown record store.

 

But just like her beloved New York City, Maria’s life has a darker side. Behind her mother’s carefree existence are shadowy secrets, and Maria must decide just where—and with whom—her loyalty lies.

My Ramblings:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I flew through it. The story is interesting and I cared about the main character, Maria, almost right from the word go. I wanted to know what had sent her fleeing from South Carolina, I wanted to know more about her childhood and how the time around her parents divorce went down, and I really wanted to see how she was going to pull it all together. Then I finished the book and I was surprised at how much I found myself NOT liking the book, and I couldn't figure out why. The writing was good, the characters made sense, there was a good story arc, so why was I so turned off? It actually hit me a few days after finishing the book. Here's what I discovered. 

It's not that I didn't like the book, it's that I didn't like some of the people in the book. Not that they were written poorly, in fact the opposite is probably true- they were written too well. I actually hate them. So you know, really well done Ms. Brothers. By the end of this book I cared so much about Maria, and so deeply disliked the choices other people (specifically her parents) made, that I was legitimately angry when I finished the book. As if these characters were real people I could go give a talking to.

SPOILER ALERT (do not keep reading if you don't want to ruin the book)

Here's my issue. For a start I like when there are good parents in YA, at least one. Or a good parental figure, but that is not always realistic. I felt like Maria's story was very realistic, and it's unfortunately one about a girl who really doesn't have any great adult role model to turn to. There were so many bad choices that the parents (and grandparents) made in this story that I wanted to reach into the book and smack them. For instance... who in their right mind sends their daughter, who is a known cutter and who just had a meltdown, to live with her absentee mother in NYC who just happens to be a known drug addict. Not only is Maria allowed to go, but at no point does anyone even try to prepare her for what she might find! They give her vague warnings- like her mother "might" not be able to take care of her. I get that Maria (and any teen really) needs to figure out some things for themselves, but i felt like I needed to throw the poor girl a life line. Here's what I wanted to happen... her Dad would say something like "Honey. I know you want to go live with your Mom, and I'm going to give you that chance, but there are some things you need to know. She has struggled with addiction for years and she may not be winning that battle now. You need to be prepared for what you might see when you get there." and then Maria would probably say something to effect of "I'm 17, not 7! I can take care of myself. Just because you don't love her anymore doesn't mean she not my mother" or something equally teenagery. Point being the girl needed a heads up, so that she was at least marginally prepared for what she was going to find. 

Of course I know that if Maria had better parental units this story wouldn't work. Which is why I struggled with the my feelings on this book. So well written. Such a good story, even if it is a bit tragic. Maria has pretty great friends (I might love Dory) and she has her head on her shoulders about as well as can be expected. I just wanted to physically leap in the book and start banging heads together! Which is all to say that this is a very good book. You will grow to care about, and hate, the characters. And that's not something that you can say about every book.