Cirque du Freak

by Darren Shan

Part of the “Vampire Blood Trilogy”, which comprises the first three of the 12 book saga.  This is a very quick read but I found it very creepy and violent yet juvenile.

On the good side, the description of the freak show was intense and well constructed.  Good writing through most of the book even though it’s in a jejune light.  I would not recommend it.

{From Wikipedia.com: “Darren Shan was fascinated by spiders from an early age. His best friend, Steve “Leopard” Leonard grew up reading horror comics and stories of the Wolfman and vampires.

One day, their friend comes across a flyer advertising the “Cirque Du Freak.”  Darren and Steve are mesmerized by the fantastic and disturbing show, especially by the act of the mysterious Mr. Crepsley and his giant spider Madam Octa. After the show, Steve declares that he knows that Crepsley is a vampire, and Darren sets his sight on Madam Octa, planning to steal her and use his knowledge of Crepsley’s true nature to his advantage as a sort of blackmail.

After a few weeks of training Madam Octa, he is fully comfortable with the spider. During this time, he grows detached from Steve due to overhearing Mr. Crepsley calling him evil and deeming him unsuitable to become a vampire’s assistant. Steve figures out that Darren lied to him and was eavesdropping after the show, but still chooses to be friends with him.

One day while Steve is at Darren’s house playing with Madam Octa, Darren’s younger sister Annie barges in, causing him to drop the flute and lose control over the spider, which bites and fatally wounds Steve.

Steve’s only hope for survival is if Darren makes a deal with Crepsley to become his assistant and pay off the cost of the spider antidote. Steve lives, but Darren is turned into a half-vampire and is thrust into the dark world of the vampires.  Mr. Crepsley helps his to-be apprentice fake his own death by numbing Darren’s entire body, breaking his neck, and throwing him out of his bedroom window, perfectly simulating a fatal fall.  Unbeknownst to Crepsley, however, Steve tries to kill Darren, but fails, instead swearing revenge on Darren for stealing his rightful place of being Mr. Crepsley’s vampire assistant.}

Made into a movie to be released October 23, 2009.

Just Ella

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Pretty good, but not my favorite.  Enjoyable, but not satisfying.

A good plot summary and character write-ups from Wikipedia:  ”This story is a retelling of Cinderella with a feminist twist and is a different version of happily-ever-after.”

Haddix has a lot of good ideas and topics in the story, like her new conjectures about the myth, Ella’s time in the dungeon, and statements about happiness:  ”Happiness was like beauty–in the eye of the beholder.”  I also liked how Ella had a can-do attitude and did not limit herself in her options.  When she was still at her stepmother’s house she planned to run away and become a tutor, a smart solution.

But I found some parts of the book underdeveloped, such as the relationships between the characters, the conflicts in and outside of the castle, and the day to day actions of life for Ella.  It didn’t seem like a true portrayal of castle life.  Maybe I’m being too harsh, it is after all a fairy tale and thus the details are up to interpretation.

The love between Jed and Ella is temperate at best.  The reader can tell from the start that they will end up together, but we miss the important details of how their love becomes a reality.  One good romantic line uttered by Jed, ‘A moment passed before he admitted softly, “I couldn’t stand to call you ‘Princess’ or hear anyone else refer to you as ‘Princess,’ because that reminded me you would never be mine.  So in my mind you were always just Ella.”‘

I have read other books by Haddix (the Among the Hidden series) and had the same feeling.  With some juvenile fiction books it’s almost as if the author is dumbing down the story to appeal to juveniles.  I believe that anyone can understand good writing.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

by Trenton Lee Stewart

Young Adult books are gaining esteem for their quality and contribution to great literature.  Juvenile fiction can also be an enriching genre not to be overlooked by those over the age of 15.  (Need I mention Harry Potter?)  The Mysterious Benedict Society is one of the juvenile classification that any adult can still appreciate.

Good read.  The intriguing cover is a good representation of what you’ll find inside.  This book can be separated into two parts, the test/finding of amazing kids, and the battle against the evil mastermind.  I enjoyed both; the first part was so interesting, and will excite anyone who likes puzzles.  The second part was full of interesting twists and turns and makes the reader think.  Stewart has a lot of fresh ideas.

Excellent book.

Beheaded, Survived

(1987) by Barbara Williams

More of a pre-teen read, but I definitely liked it.  The main character, Jane, is pulled along on a tour of England by her older sister Courtney, and is inhibited by fear of others finding out about her diabetes.  It is interesting to read it now in 2008 and see what advances they’ve made in diabetes care.  In this book the characters speak of hope of a cure within 4 years, too bad that did not come true.

The narrative of their tour also gives a list of interesting books and authors from England.  (For example, A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver, about Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Murder in the Cathedral, about the assassination of Thomas Becket).  The descriptions of the landscape left me wanting, but that’s not really what the book is about. As Kay E. Vandergrift, Rutgers University, states on Amazon.com: “The title, the maps, and the references to historic works lead readers to believe that the setting will be far more important to this story than it is.  It fails to integrate completely contemporary problems with the background of historic sites of Old England as promised.“

Jane’s relationship with troubled Lowell happens very fast without much development but is still nice.  The voices of the characters belied their ages sometimes, but that is easy to ignore to enjoy the story.

A Mango-Shaped Space

by Wendy Mass

A children’s book about the struggles of a girl with synesthesia. Here is an interesting conversation about the book and the condition in general (notice that the author Wendy Mass piped in to the discussion).

In any case, this book is a good read for an insider’s view of synesthesia and what it would be like to have it. The author did extensive research to provide a good picture to the reader.

Wendy Mass’ website on the book

Crispin: At the Edge of the World

Crispin: At the Edge of the World
by Avi

Oh my goodness. Could this book be any more unfortunate? So depressing! How did the decision get made to kill off Bear, Crispin’s one link to reality on earth? And this book felt like one giant segue; they talk about going to the ‘edge of the world’ and then in the very last few paragraphs, “Well, I guess we’re going to the edge of the world.” Like that wasn’t already determined… can we get to some substance to match the title already?

What this book does have are good glimpses of life in the olden days of England. That part was very interesting, talking about the different regions, how people move around, the conflicts with France.

Maybe the last book will wrap everything up and actually make sense.

the Chronicles of Narnia

by C.S. Lewis

I started this series a while ago, at the wee age of 12 or so, the age when every young person picks up this series with delight. But I didn’t fall rapturously in love with it. I had this weird thing against chintzy old stories of English kids, like Narnia and another book called The Amulet (which I refused to read, and still have not read to this day, maybe it’s next).  But this summer I decided to finish it.

I found the rest of the books very interesting and full of scintillating story details and frankly transparent views on religion.  My favorite books in the series are The Horse and His Boy and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

In The Last Battle, the end was slightly shocking when it was revealed that the children had died and entered heaven.  I’m glad C.S. Lewis let one of the true-hearted Telmarines into heaven, but he was still very biased against people of different religions.

All in all this is a very creative series and one necessary to read because it is such a famous series in literature history.

Small Steps

Small Steps
by: Louis Sachar

Very, very, very different than the book it comes after, Holes. It follows the life of two kids from Camp Green Lake, Armpit and X-Ray. I liked it a lot.

It is a very different tone than Holes, none of the magical-tale feeling, more down-to-earth.

One thing I didn’t like was the ending. It was way too practical for my liking. I was looking forward to something romantic, such as Armpit rushing off to makeup with Keira. Also, Ginny had a large role early on in the book, but was then cast off like she had served her purpose.

The Divide

The Divide
by: Elizabeth Kay

Esperanza Rising

Esperanza Rising
by: Pam Muñoz Ryan

I had heard about this book so much that I just had to read it, even though it is meant for a younger audience. I love the cover art, her rising above her challenges, with the roses of memory. Esperanza means ‘hope’ in Spanish.

Some of my favorite parts:
Anza and her father listening to the earth’s heart beat, then later on Anza and Miguel. Anza had to find her inner peace, and be around those she loved, to be able to hear the heart. Anza giving her doll to Isabel after she was not chosen for the Queen of May. Miguel bringing back Abuelita, a happy ending at last.
This is a true story about the author’s grandmother.

“Esperanza Ortega possesses all the treasures a young girl could want: fancy dresses; a beautiful home filled with servants in the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico; and the promise of one day rising to Mama’s position and presiding over all of Rancho de las Rosas. But a sudden tragedy shatters that dream, forcing Esperanza and Mama to flee to California and settle in a Mexican farm labor camp.  There they confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression.  When Mama falls ill from Valley Fever and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past and learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community. Pam Muñoz Ryan eloquently portrays the Mexican workers’ plight in this abundant and passionate novel that gives voice to those who have historically been denied one.”
            ~ Scholastic Press 

Author’s website

Random House online catalog