Deadline by Chris Crutcher
I first read this book when I took a YA literature class when working on my MLS. I picked it up again on Sunday because the library was closed, and I needed a book to read out in the sun (as much I love my Kindle Fire, outdoor reading is not one of its selling points). Though it was a reread--and I knew what was going to happen--Deadline still proves to be one of my favorite YA novels.
The protagonist, Ben Wolf, is set to start his senior year of high school---at least he was set to start before he went to the doctor for his annual sports physical. Ben is diagnosed with a fatal blood disease. Since he's already 18, he decides to refuse treatment, opting for quality of life over quantity. He also decides to keep everyone in the dark in an attempt to live as normal of a life as possible.
"Live every day as if it's your last" becomes Ben's mantra for his senior year of high school. Despite high expectations of making it to the state championships in cross country, 120-something pound Ben tries out for the football team. He finally tells the object of his affection how he feels towards her. He challenges his stubborn, right-winged government teacher's teachings in an effort to get the most out of his remaining education.
However, Ben realizes that his secret isn't just affecting him. His brother, his girlfriend, his parents, his coach are all relying on him, so what's going to happen once he's not around? The internal conflict plays out when he's awake, but it's also shown through dialogue in his dreams between Ben and Hey-soos (whether or not this is Jesus is never actually stated, but it can be inferred).
There's a lot of language and some sex in this book, so it's not for younger teens. I'm also not sure if they're emotionally mature enough to understand some of the themes. It's a powerful novel, and I think the 13 awards it's won are a testament to that.
Target age range: 16 years - adult
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Lone Wolf
Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
Without a doubt, Jodi Picoult has been one of my favorite writers for years. See? An entire shelf dedicated to all of her books back in our office.
Granted, since she has published a book a year the past few years, I'm going to need to start a new shelf after next year. Despite having the ability to purchase her books digitally now, I can't do it. I need to own hard copies. Actually (if we're being 100% honest, and please don't tell Amazon), I really need to own hard copies of all my books. Hence why when I'm rich (or at least in my own home and not this apartment, whichever comes first), I'm going to have to have wall-to-wall bookcases. :p
But I digress. Which, in case you couldn't tell, isn't that unusual sometimes.
Picoult's novels tend to take places in court rooms and hospitals. I really enjoy the court cases, and she goes to lengths to research facts and statistics to support a realistic legal drama.
Luke Warren has lived with the wolves--literally. He left his wife and two children for two years to live in the Canadian wild and assimilate himself into a pack. Successful, he returns to the human world after realizing if he doesn't make a clean break and return, he won't. Skip forward a few years, and Luke has divorced his wife, and his son has moved to Thailand to escape him. His daughter, Cara, now lives with Luke, since his ex-wife has remarried and given birth to more children. Skip forward four more years, and Luke is lying in a hospital bed in a coma after a terrible car accident.
This is the start of the story. Luke and Cara have survived the crash, but to what extent? Cara is hurt and needs surgery, but is otherwise fine. Luke, however, is in a comatose state that doesn't bode well for his future. Georgie, Luke's ex-wife, calls and beckons their son, Edward, to return home, as the prognosis on his father is not good.
Cara is none too pleased to have Edward back in the picture at this point in Luke's life; she still blames her brother's disappearance as the cause of her parents' divorce. Her anger only grows after Edward decides to terminate their father's life support and donate his organs. Cara manages to object to the procedure in enough time to prevent the cessation of life sustaining measures, but this only leads to a court battle to decide who ultimately gets to make the decision regarding Luke's life. Cara hopes beyond hope that her father can recover, despite facts and claims from doctors and her brother. However, she is holding back a secret about the accident that requires her to hold onto the idea that he will regain consciousness.
Edward, too, has a secret regarding why he left home in the first place. He must work out his own negative feelings towards his father in order to make the decision that his father would want--and in a way that will convince his sister he is acting out of love and not hate. In the meantime, he finds himself in jail and facing other charges after infuriating his sister and an opportunistic attorney.
Chapters are divided with excerpts from Luke's experiences with the wolves. These have happened in the wild or within the wolf enclosures where he worked. Seemingly, they added a bit of science/Animal Planet to the plot, but the themes among the wolves and the pack always linked themselves to the themes in the main storyline.
As I've said, I love Picoult. A few years ago, I was pretty disappointed with the ending of Handle with Care (especially since that came right after Change of Heart, which was one of my faves), but the past few books have redeemed the resolution to that novel. Lone Wolf is a read for any one who appreciates a good drama, and f you're an animal lover, all the more reason to read.
Target age range: Adult
Without a doubt, Jodi Picoult has been one of my favorite writers for years. See? An entire shelf dedicated to all of her books back in our office.
Granted, since she has published a book a year the past few years, I'm going to need to start a new shelf after next year. Despite having the ability to purchase her books digitally now, I can't do it. I need to own hard copies. Actually (if we're being 100% honest, and please don't tell Amazon), I really need to own hard copies of all my books. Hence why when I'm rich (or at least in my own home and not this apartment, whichever comes first), I'm going to have to have wall-to-wall bookcases. :p
But I digress. Which, in case you couldn't tell, isn't that unusual sometimes.
Picoult's novels tend to take places in court rooms and hospitals. I really enjoy the court cases, and she goes to lengths to research facts and statistics to support a realistic legal drama.
Luke Warren has lived with the wolves--literally. He left his wife and two children for two years to live in the Canadian wild and assimilate himself into a pack. Successful, he returns to the human world after realizing if he doesn't make a clean break and return, he won't. Skip forward a few years, and Luke has divorced his wife, and his son has moved to Thailand to escape him. His daughter, Cara, now lives with Luke, since his ex-wife has remarried and given birth to more children. Skip forward four more years, and Luke is lying in a hospital bed in a coma after a terrible car accident.
This is the start of the story. Luke and Cara have survived the crash, but to what extent? Cara is hurt and needs surgery, but is otherwise fine. Luke, however, is in a comatose state that doesn't bode well for his future. Georgie, Luke's ex-wife, calls and beckons their son, Edward, to return home, as the prognosis on his father is not good.
Cara is none too pleased to have Edward back in the picture at this point in Luke's life; she still blames her brother's disappearance as the cause of her parents' divorce. Her anger only grows after Edward decides to terminate their father's life support and donate his organs. Cara manages to object to the procedure in enough time to prevent the cessation of life sustaining measures, but this only leads to a court battle to decide who ultimately gets to make the decision regarding Luke's life. Cara hopes beyond hope that her father can recover, despite facts and claims from doctors and her brother. However, she is holding back a secret about the accident that requires her to hold onto the idea that he will regain consciousness.
Edward, too, has a secret regarding why he left home in the first place. He must work out his own negative feelings towards his father in order to make the decision that his father would want--and in a way that will convince his sister he is acting out of love and not hate. In the meantime, he finds himself in jail and facing other charges after infuriating his sister and an opportunistic attorney.
Chapters are divided with excerpts from Luke's experiences with the wolves. These have happened in the wild or within the wolf enclosures where he worked. Seemingly, they added a bit of science/Animal Planet to the plot, but the themes among the wolves and the pack always linked themselves to the themes in the main storyline.
As I've said, I love Picoult. A few years ago, I was pretty disappointed with the ending of Handle with Care (especially since that came right after Change of Heart, which was one of my faves), but the past few books have redeemed the resolution to that novel. Lone Wolf is a read for any one who appreciates a good drama, and f you're an animal lover, all the more reason to read.
Target age range: Adult
My Horizontal Life
My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler
This post will be a quickie (pardon the pun)
It's not a new book (published in '05), but it was on the Kindle library lending list, so I thought, "What they hey?" and tried it out. I'm all for comedians/comediennes writing their own books because they're usually good for a couple laughs, if nothing else. Handler (of Chelsea Lately) documents her trysts with various men in a number ofgross embarrassing lewd entertaining situations --- none of which I'm sorry to have missed out on in my lifetime.
Given the nature of the contents, I'll let you read it if you want to know more about what happens in the book. Be forewarned that the Internet's NSFW (not safe for work) acronym should be blasted on the cover, as it's nsfw or for kids. Language, sex, drugs, alcohol...it's a party bound together in paperback. Horizontal Life is the epitome of a "beach read."
Target age range: Adults (definitely)
This post will be a quickie (pardon the pun)
It's not a new book (published in '05), but it was on the Kindle library lending list, so I thought, "What they hey?" and tried it out. I'm all for comedians/comediennes writing their own books because they're usually good for a couple laughs, if nothing else. Handler (of Chelsea Lately) documents her trysts with various men in a number of
Given the nature of the contents, I'll let you read it if you want to know more about what happens in the book. Be forewarned that the Internet's NSFW (not safe for work) acronym should be blasted on the cover, as it's nsfw or for kids. Language, sex, drugs, alcohol...it's a party bound together in paperback. Horizontal Life is the epitome of a "beach read."
Target age range: Adults (definitely)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
A Stolen Life
A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
Before I start, let me just say that I have at three posts to write within the next few days. Technically, it could be six, but I'm choosing not to review Patterson's Private Games, Private: #1 Suspect, or Kill Alex Cross. For one, it's been a few weeks since I've read them; secondly, they were the usual killer thrillers that Patterson is notorious for in the literary world. However, they were all entertaining, and I give a nod towards Private Games if suspense novels are your thing. It's set in 2012 London during the Olympics, and that upcoming event adds more to the story. Sadly, as much as I relish Alex Cross novels, his glory days as the protagonist in books such as Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls have seemingly passed. Without characters like Gary Soneji and Kyle Craig, he's just not as strong of a hero figure.
Okay, now on to Dugard's memoir.
Every few months I decide to pick up a biography. I did two in a row this time (the next one will be in the following post), and I pretty much wish I hadn't read this one. D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G. I think spelling it out in all caps should sound off bells and whistles and throw up red flags. It's not that I didn't know who or what this book was going to be about when I checked it out from the library; I remember the whole Dugard disappearance in the early 90s, even though I was 6 or 7 when it happened. I definitely remember when she resurfaced a few years ago.
But jeez, Dugard didn't pull any punches when she described what happened to her. I suppose that's the point of a memoir--to tell the truth. I just don't think I could (if it had happened to me) retell the rape scenes that occurred when I was eleven years old. Dugard reflects on each chapter personally; how she's stronger now and looking back it was so hard for her to deal with it. I don't disagree with the idea that it would have been hard, but I think that's all the more reason I wouldn't want to relive it. Maybe that's just me. It may be part of the healing process (hopefully one I'll never have to worry about) to write about it, but publicizing it just seems like an invasion of an already terrible private memory. Eh, maybe it's a way to show the world what asick SOB lunatic Phillip Garrido really is.
The rape scenes lessen as Dugard ages; instead the story focuses more on her survival in the backyard with her two daughters. She teaches the girls how to read and write by setting up a school in the backyard. However, the girls know Jaycee as their "sister," as Phillip's wife, Nancy, is posing as their mother. Again, something else that is incredibly sad. You give birth to two girls. You raise them. You teach them all that you can, despite not having past a fifth grade education yourself. However, they don't even know you as their mother. A Stolen Life is such an apt title for this book.
The book ends after Dugard finds herself confessing to who she really is when Garrido runs in with his parole officer eighteen years after the abduction. She is in therapy and has started her own reunification support and therapy foundation (JAYC) for those who have suffered from the loss of abducted family members or for those who are struggling with the reunification process. Sales from the book support the cause.
If you want to read this, go ahead. It's not an easy read, and (like I said) I wouldn't pick it up again. It was difficult to say the least, although it was quick to get through. I'll be a little more hesitant next time before checking out a book on someone who was a front page news sob story.
Target age range: Adults
Before I start, let me just say that I have at three posts to write within the next few days. Technically, it could be six, but I'm choosing not to review Patterson's Private Games, Private: #1 Suspect, or Kill Alex Cross. For one, it's been a few weeks since I've read them; secondly, they were the usual killer thrillers that Patterson is notorious for in the literary world. However, they were all entertaining, and I give a nod towards Private Games if suspense novels are your thing. It's set in 2012 London during the Olympics, and that upcoming event adds more to the story. Sadly, as much as I relish Alex Cross novels, his glory days as the protagonist in books such as Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls have seemingly passed. Without characters like Gary Soneji and Kyle Craig, he's just not as strong of a hero figure.
Okay, now on to Dugard's memoir.
Every few months I decide to pick up a biography. I did two in a row this time (the next one will be in the following post), and I pretty much wish I hadn't read this one. D-E-P-R-E-S-S-I-N-G. I think spelling it out in all caps should sound off bells and whistles and throw up red flags. It's not that I didn't know who or what this book was going to be about when I checked it out from the library; I remember the whole Dugard disappearance in the early 90s, even though I was 6 or 7 when it happened. I definitely remember when she resurfaced a few years ago.
But jeez, Dugard didn't pull any punches when she described what happened to her. I suppose that's the point of a memoir--to tell the truth. I just don't think I could (if it had happened to me) retell the rape scenes that occurred when I was eleven years old. Dugard reflects on each chapter personally; how she's stronger now and looking back it was so hard for her to deal with it. I don't disagree with the idea that it would have been hard, but I think that's all the more reason I wouldn't want to relive it. Maybe that's just me. It may be part of the healing process (hopefully one I'll never have to worry about) to write about it, but publicizing it just seems like an invasion of an already terrible private memory. Eh, maybe it's a way to show the world what a
The rape scenes lessen as Dugard ages; instead the story focuses more on her survival in the backyard with her two daughters. She teaches the girls how to read and write by setting up a school in the backyard. However, the girls know Jaycee as their "sister," as Phillip's wife, Nancy, is posing as their mother. Again, something else that is incredibly sad. You give birth to two girls. You raise them. You teach them all that you can, despite not having past a fifth grade education yourself. However, they don't even know you as their mother. A Stolen Life is such an apt title for this book.
The book ends after Dugard finds herself confessing to who she really is when Garrido runs in with his parole officer eighteen years after the abduction. She is in therapy and has started her own reunification support and therapy foundation (JAYC) for those who have suffered from the loss of abducted family members or for those who are struggling with the reunification process. Sales from the book support the cause.
If you want to read this, go ahead. It's not an easy read, and (like I said) I wouldn't pick it up again. It was difficult to say the least, although it was quick to get through. I'll be a little more hesitant next time before checking out a book on someone who was a front page news sob story.
Target age range: Adults
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