Going Bovine by Libba Bray (YA)

If you like your quest adventures filled with existentialism and satire, Going Bovine (2009, Random House Children's Books) by the most-awesome Libba Bray will rock your world.

This is one. trippy. book.

Gemma Doyle fans take note: we are not in Victorian England anymore. Not one spec of lace to be found -- although there are plenty of feathers.

Eoin Colfer has (I hear) done a smashing job of continuing Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide, but Bray could easily pinch hit. Her dry wit and sarcasm are perfectly channeled through her teenage hero, 16-year-old Cameron.

Poor Cameron. He's not doing so well in school, he's not popular like his twin sister, he cuts class and hangs out in the bathroom with the pot-smokers... and then strange things start happening. Turns out, Cameron has Mad Cow disease, and before he knows it, he's in the hospital.

From there, things get stranger... Cameron's friend from school, a dwarf named Gonzo, ends up in the same hospital room. Encouraged by the vision of a fishnet stocking-wearing angel named Dulcie, they take off on a Don Quixote-like quest to find the mysterious Dr. X who might be able to cure Cameron and stop the dark forces he allowed to enter the world from destroying it. (pant pant)

There truly has never been a road trip like this one. Racing the clock to find Dr. X before the sand runs out of Cameron's hourglass, they "follow the feather" from Texas to New Orleans to Spring Break in Florida to Disney World, battling dark forces with the help of a dead jazz musician, a yard gnome/Viking and the world's most beloved (and mysteriously missing) rock band. And the thread running through it all: is this really happening? Or is Cameron's Mad Cow-infected brain creating this as it turns to mush?

Did I mention this is One. Trippy. Book?

Bray slices the teenage world wide open and hangs it all out there for examination. Each stop along the way presents Cameron with temptations that may or may not be positive one, painting an absurd world in which teenagers must learn to choose which is which. As in any good satire, it's often too close to the truth. Whether in the form of a smiling cult of do-gooders or the latest MTV generation of reality-show wanna be's, every encounter is an opportunity for Bray to make a statement. Luckily, she does it in her own subtle way, staying just this side of preachy.

Cameron's metamorphosis in character is extensive. You're not going to like him much in the beginning, but stick with the kid because he'll grow on you. Dulcie remains an enigma, with good reason I suppose, but I would have liked more of her character. Gonzo and the Viking god Balder (who is trapped in the form of a yard gnome) are the most interesting characters and play their parts well as Cameron's loyal buds.

I go back and forth about how I feel about the ending, and I won't say more here because it's impossible to do so without spoilers. But I have no doubt Cameron's fate is, and will continue to be, the subject of much debate for readers.

While the dust jacket says 14 and up, I have to play conservative on this one and recommend it more for someone old enough to drive due to R-rated language and more than a few scenes of mature subject matter. That said, high school readers (especially those who have studied Don Quixote) will soak up this mind-spinning journey. 4 bookmarks.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Okay, I'm a bit late discovering the books of delightfully snarky Maureen Johnson (but I've followed her on Twitter for some time thanks to Libba Bray and MJ's strong stance against banning books, does that count?) After reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes (2005, Harper Collins), I plan to be a fan for quite some time.

For grades 8 and up, the story of 17-year-old Ginny Blackstone is the perfect summer read: especially for those of us who would love to tour Europe but are shackled to home thanks to the big bad recession.

So, three years ago, Ginny's Aunt Peg up and left for Europe. Sure, there was the occasional postcard, but mainly, she was off being the flaky artist that Ginny had always known her to be. Then Ginny learns her runaway aunt has died of a brain tumor, leaving her favorite niece 13 little blue envelopes. The first one contains $1,000 and a set of rules that include Ginny's packing a bag and hopping a flight to London. She is only to open one envelope at a time, and never without fulfilling the instructions of its predecessor. Ginny, being the rule-follower that she is, goes along with it.

So off she goes, traveling through Europe, following the same path Aunt Peg took as she discovered herself, her art, and the illness that would eventually claim her. Ginny makes a few friends, learns a lot about both herself and her aunt, and experiences the kinds of things only a teenager backpacking through Europe with a ATM card and a passport can experience (read: boys).

Johnson's writing style is light and totally sucks you in, with descriptions of Rome, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Greece that are a vacation in themselves. (How I envy the author her research trip!!)

Other books (including Suite Scarlette, Devilish and the Bermudez Triangle) are now on my radar and will be voraciously consumed as soon as they are in my grasp. 4 bookmarks as I look forward to more.

Things May Be Slowing Down A Bit

You may have noticed I haven't posted as many reviews lately. That's because I'm going full throttle (finally) on writing my new book and I tend to not read as much when I'm writing.

I do hope to have some guest bloggers throughout the summer, however, and if you would like to be one of them, please email me at kimberlyjsmith1@mac.com.

In the meantime, I'd like to share an article about YA literature that was published in the Wall Street Journal last week. Since it featured "13 Reasons Why" (see my review here) I thought it was worth posting.

Here it is.

Also worth sharing is a letter to the editor in response by Lisa Von Drasek (Children's Librarian, Bank Street, Library of Education, New York):

"Although I was thrilled to see a full-page article on young-adult books ("It Was, Like, All Dark and Stormy," Weekend Journal, June 6), I am sorry that it misses the point.

The waters of adolescence are dark and stormy. The issues of eating disorders, cutting, depression and, yes, suicide are present in what looks on the outside to be the most normal, typical teen. The gift of literature is the ability of the author to let us into the thoughts and point of view of the characters.

You lost an opportunity to do a deeper reading. "If I Stay" isn't just another dead-girl book; it is about exploring who we are, how we define our family and how we are connected to our community.

"Wintergirls" isn't a how-to manual on eating disorders, but examines the downward spiral of addictive behavior as family and friends watch helplessly from the sidelines. "Hunger Games" isn't just a dystopic fantasy of teens battling each other to the death but an examination of materialism, celebrity culture and the world-wide gap in access to resources like food, health and education.

Contrary to your statement that librarians "want to keep the book off the shelves," librarians are on the forefront of buying these books, writing and talking about them and handing them to teens. The shelves of the young-adult section of the library are packed with a variety of materials: the supernatural romance of "Twilight," the comic response to that in the "Reformed Vampire Support Group," the thoughtful contemporary fiction of Sarah Dessen and the award winning coming-of-age novels of Sherman Alexie."

Create your own book trailer contest!

I know lots of kids are putting book trailers together for some of their favorite books. I'd love to see them! In fact, I'd love to see them so much I'm having a contest.

First, GET YOUR PARENT'S PERMISSION.
Please, do this.

Then, send me a link to your book trailer (it has to be hosted somewhere online like You Tube or something). I'll post all the book trailers (as long as they don't have any obscenities or anything) and everyone can vote on them. The trailer that gets the most positive comments wins a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card.

There are two ways to enter. Either leave me a comment on this post or email me at kimberlyjsmith1@mac.com. DO NOT GIVE ME ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION. Just an email address of how to contact you. If you're the winner then I'll email you to let you know.

Deadline is Sunday March 8th. I look forward to seeing how creative you all are!!

Airhead by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot, the queen of teen books (Princess Diaries,  Allie Fink, Jinx, etc. etc. etc.) has hit on something that every teenage girl can relate to -- wishing they were a super model. Only Em Watts really is. Now.

Through tragic circumstance, which I won't reveal because half the fun of the first few chapters is figuring out what the heck is going on, Em ends up in the body of uber-popular teen super model Nikki Howard. Inside, she's still the video-game loving, computer geek she always was, but outside she's... well, she's hot! And not sure what to do about it.

Airhead (Point, 2008) is the first of a three-book series featuring Em, err, Nikki... her best friend Lulu and a cast of characters who could have stepped out of a soap opera except for the fact that Cabot paints them so real and likable (well, except for that Stark fellow) that you can't help but be drawn into this story.

Most definitely for the teenage set, this book (along with Jinx and Avalon High) join the ranks of some of my favorite "teen girl" books. Meg Cabot has such a great style and snarkiness that I just adore. And I love how Airhead explores the importance of soul vs. beauty. The sequel, Being Nikki, will hit stores May 2009.

Another 4-bookmark read! Check out more about Meg Cabot here. 

Coming up tomorrow:  an interview with Tantalize and the soon-to-be-released Eternal author Cynthia Leitich Smith. A must for Twilight fans!!!

Counting the days until "Eternal"

Only a month and a few days until Cynthia Leitich Smith's new book ETERNAL comes out and I am so "chuffed" (as my UK friends would say). If you haven't read her first YA novel TANTALIZE, and you like authors such as Libba Bray and Stephenie Meyer, you'll love CLS. She's also from Austin and as a fellow Texan I'm morally obligated to support her. Luckily, I think she's awesome, so it's easy.

Still have Christmas shopping to do?

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau

I am a HUGE "Books of Ember" fan. (I was a bit disappointed with the film, however, but that's another story.) City of Ember, the first in the series by Jeanne DuPrau, was in my opinion simply brilliant. A city powered by electric lights, but the generator is wheezing and the food stores are running out. Two kids find the secret of their lost city -- that hundreds of years ago, a world on the brink of destruction built Ember deep under the ground as a way to preserve human life. There was an escape plan, for 200 years in the future, but the line of secret keepers was broken and so more than 200 years went by until the City didn't even know where they were. Lina and Doon find the secret way out of the dying city, and in book two they come upon Sparks, one of the settlements above ground where the descendants of survivors live. These first two books were just great. DuPrau tells an intriguing and moving futuristic tale. I highly recommend both.

Then, in the third installment, The Prophet of Yonwood, DuPrau swerves off the storyline to backtrack and show us the time leading up to the population of Ember in the first place. This third book just didn't work for me at all; I suppose I really just wanted to know what was going to happen with Lina and Doon. Seems to me Yonwood would have been better as the fourth book, after Darkhold.

WHICH brings me to this review (finally!). The fourth book begins nine months after The People of Sparks ends. The winter is upon them, and much like the colonists or pioneers, the people of Sparks are having a tough time of it. When Doon's father cuts his hand and there is a fear of infection, Doon and Lina decide to head back to Ember to get some Anti-B. But when they get there, they discover not only has a strange family settled in the now dark and abandoned city, but they have come across yet another secret of Ember.

This book was so great -- I was totally hooked from the first chapter. We get lots of backstory to fill in the gaps and I would say it's still up in the air whether this is truly the last book of Ember or not. If you liked the other books in the series, you will enjoy this one.  4 bookmarks!

Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass

Witnessing a total solar eclipse is something that not many people can claim to do. But the three main characters in the latest book from Wendy Mass (Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life and A Mango Shaped Space) do just that... and they learn a little about themselves in the bargain. 

Told from the perspective of three kids: model wanna-be Bree, slightly overweight loner Jack and homeschooled astronomer in the making Ally, Every Soul A Star explores the wonders of space, Earth and how everybody has to find their own place on it.

Ally has grown up in the boonies, her parents built Moon Shadow campground out in the wilderness as a place for stargazers to pilgrimage to, and this particular summer, they'll be coming in droves as the camp is in the direct path of a total solar eclipse. She loves living under a blanket of stars, and has looked forward to this summer pretty much her whole life. But there's a catch. After the eclipse her family is going to be moving to the city for the first time ever. 

City girl Bree has just found out her family is moving to Moon Shadow to take over for Ally's family, and she's none too happy about being away from her cell phone and friend network. She's more concerned about her toenail polish than which constellations are which, and has no problem letting Ally know that she's getting the raw deal.

Jack finds himself in Moon Shadow as a way to make up for a failing science grade, and summer school. Not exactly one of Bree's popular crowd, Jack just wants to get through the summer and enjoy the outdoors while doing it.

Mass weaves these three stories together masterfully, all told in first person POV yet retaining unique voices for each. Even the snobby Bree comes off as sympathetic and likable.

I'm a huge fan of Jeremy Fink and Mango Shaped Space, and have looked forward to Mass's latest dip into a fascinating subject. She demonstrates why astronomy is so fascinating and young readers will enjoy the celestial tidbits of info they'll pick up along the way. 4 bookmarks -- would make a great holiday gift!!

(NOTE:

I'm hoping to have an interview with the author in the near future, so if you've read Every Soul a Star and have a question for Wendy Mass, post them in the comments section and I'll try to include them in the interview.)

Dairy Queen and Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

I read Dairy Queen a few months back and totally loved it, but hadn't had a chance to read the sequel Off Season until recently. What a great couple of books these are -- and not just because I have family in Wisconsin either! 

Dairy Queen introduces us to 15-year old DJ Schwenk who lives on a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin. She has three brothers, two who are local football stars, and a father who was recently injured and is now unable to work the farm. 

Here's a pull from the School Library Journal review:

Between milking cows, mucking out the barn, and mowing clover, this erstwhile jock takes on training Brian, the rival high school's quarterback. A monster crush and a tryout for her own school's football team ensue. DJ, a charming if slightly unreliable narrator, does a good deal of soul-searching while juggling her grinding work schedule, an uncommunicative family, and a best friend who turns out to be gay. Savvy readers will anticipate plot turns, but the fun is in seeing each twist through DJ's eyes as she struggles with whether she really is, as Brian puts it, like a cow headed unquestioningly down the cattle shoot of life. Wry narration and brisk sports scenes bolster the pacing and DJ's tongue-tied nature and self-deprecating inner monologues contribute to the novel's many belly laughs. At the end, though, it is the protagonist's heart that will win readers over.

These books are listed as for grades 7 through 10, so they're not for middle grade readers. But DJ is written wonderfully. Girls will totally relate to her struggles, even if they can't relate to living in the country, or playing football.

The follow up, Off Season, is just as enjoyable, and picks up right where Dairy Queen leaves off. Without revealing too much of the plot, which would ruin it, let me say that this book was a bit tougher emotionally with situations that arise due to her best friend's relationship with her mother, and a family tragedy.

These books would make GREAT GIFTS (i'm a big book pusher when it comes to holiday presents) for teenage girls. 4 bookmarks for the series, and I look forward to reading Murdock's most recent book, the YA fantasy "Princess Ben."

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

There was so much negative buzz about this book when it first came out, but I tried my best not to listen. I didn't want to know anything until I read it for myself, however, I couldn't help but prepare myself for disappointment.

So I don't know if it was because I wasn't expecting to love it that... well... I kinda did.

I am a big fan of this series. I think Meyers has a great deal of talent in capturing the excitement and romance and intrigue of such a relationship. I've enjoyed where she took the story, and always felt as if Bella and Edward didn't end up together somehow, I would feel cheated.

BEFORE YOU READ ON... It's really impossible for me to review this without discussing the storyline, which most people probably already know, but if you don't want to spoil the surprise, don't read on.

Okay, with that disclaimer out of the way... we already knew going into this book that a big wedding was on deck for Bella and Edward. Alice pulled out all the stops and it's a great scene. So off the happy couple goes on their honeymoon and yes, the standard honeymoon activities ensue.

LET ME PAUSE HERE TO SAY that in no way shape or form should these books be considered appropriate for anyone under, oh I'd say 14. Maybe I'm conservative, but the sexual themes/tension within the covers are way too adult for the elementary-aged girls I've seen carrying these books around. Just my opinion on that.

Okay, back to the review. So Bella ends up pregnant. I was totally surprised by this, although it explained a lot about the pro life/pro choice buzz. Like I said, I was trying not to pay attention. At first I thought, you've got to be kidding me, right? But Meyers drew me in so well that before long this arc was just as believable as the original concept. The baby grows at an accelerated rate, and no mother who has ever carried a child like this (of which there haven't been many) have survived the birth. Edward's wrenching guilt and anguish over this, and Bella's instant maternal instincts carry us through the pages of waiting and working out how to save Bella. Of course, they end up making her a vampire when the baby is born. 

Bella turns out to be an excellent vampire, although whether this is because she had so much time to mentally prepare or whether it's from sheer stubbornness, we don't know. Jacob, who had hovered at Bella's bedside, unable to leave her during the pregnancy, discovers something amazing that totally caught me off guard and I won't mention here because finding out was just so much fun.

Then, the half human, half vampire child draws the attention of The Volturi, who suddenly have reason to condemn the family. Alice sees that they are coming for them, and they immediately recruit some of their vampire friends from around the world to stand with them. They have to convince The Volturi that the child is not an immortal child (which is forbidden).

The final showdown is tense and well done and I was kept up all hours reading which is always a good sign.

I recommend this and give it 4 bookmarks, but I do want to add this caveat -- if you have preconceived notions about the book, or feel like Meyers is trying to make a political/ethical statement, you may not want to spend the 700+ pages of reading time on it. However, if you can go into it with an open mind, forget what everyone is saying, and just enjoy the story for what it is. Which is pretty darn good.

Coming Soon

Very soon I hope to start posting Cool Kids Read podcasts, featuring interviews with young readers about their favorite books. If you're interested, click the "subscribe" button!