It's been quite a while since I last posted anything. What can I say? It's time consuming reading all of these books, but I don't mind since I enjoy them all so much! February was a teen fiction heavy month (Starcrossed, What I Was, Glow, and Lenobia's Vow) which I managed to balance out by finally finishing The Brain That Changes Itself. As well as finishing one of my favourite series with Out of Oz.
First on the docket is Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, one of many advanced reader's copies I was able to snag while still working at Chapters. It was entertaining enough, following the prescribed forbidden love thingamajig that often pops up in novels. What got me into this book though was the mythological aspect to it. Helen, the protagonist of this adventure, descends from a line of Scions, but is unaware of this until a new family moves to town and awakens a dormant blood feud centuries old. Also, this story takes place in Nantucket and I find that fun to say so brownie points to Ms. Angelini for picking an excellent locale for her story to take place. I look forward to its sequel, Dreamless, coming out this May.
Have you ever gone into Chapters and perused the bargain section of the store? If you have, then like me you have often left the store with far more books than you intended to purchase yet at a price far less than you expected to pay. Who doesn't like buying a book in hardcover for less than what the store is charging for the paperback version? This is how I stumbled upon Meg Rosoff's What I Was. Specifically, it was in the teen bargain section. An interesting tale of friendship, growing up, and fitting in at boarding unravels with an interesting twist that surprises.
Continuing with more teen fiction, I read Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan. It reminded me slightly of the Disney-Pixar movie WALL-E in that humans have been forced to leave Earth due to their destruction of what once was a hospitable environment to live in and are now milling about space. I was also reminded of Lord of the Flies while reading this for there is a very Ralph vs. Jack situation that occurs when all the boys end up alone on one of the spaceships Oh inherent evil in man will you ever fail to entertain? If you enjoy a bit of sci-fi and are willing to start a new series pick this up!
Next I read the fourth and final book in the Wicked Years series by Gregory Maguire: Out of Oz. Once again you find yourself in the land of Oz picking up where you left off, this time with a familiar visitor now older but not much wiser. The most amusing part of this novel I found was with Lady Glinda, she is entering middle age yet you can tell that she is still trying to maintain a hold on her youth. I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not read any of the previous books so I will just say this, I found the end to this series quite satisfying.
I then quickly read the latest companion novella to the House of Night Series, Lenobia's Vow. I find the novellas great to read because they offer a lot of back story on secondary characters that otherwise would be left unsaid. This one in particular followed the journey of the Tulsa House of Night's horse mistress in becoming marked and losing love. I know that this series isn't the most interesting or exciting but once I start reading a series I find it hard to stop.
After reading A Confederacy of Dunces some time ago I thought I would pick up The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole and give it a whirl. I am still reeling from the fact that he wrote this as a sixteen year old for a writing competition, it just cements the fact that genius's start young. This short, amazing novel takes a look at growing up in the south during a time of war and Evangelist preachers. It also looks at how people often claim acting as a "good Christian" when they are merely acting in self interest. Most interesting is the fact that the book is told from the perspective of a young man looking back at his childhood while traveling by train to an unknown destination.
I began reading The Brain That Changes Itself last summer shortly after finishing Moonwalking with Einstein. Neuroplasticity had sparked an interest in me and I was eager to read more about it. I think I took as long as I did reading this book because I did not always agree with the methods of research that were being discussed. More often than not, trying to read something you are angry with does not work well, so that I found myself reading books in between reading chapters of it. The Brain That Changes Itself takes a intensely detailed look at the progress in neuroscience regarding ability to overcome shortcomings by taking advantage of different methods to retrain the brain, improving quality of life.
Josephine Angelini
Meg Rosoff
Amy Kathleen Ryan
Gregory Maguire
PC Cast - House of Night
John Kennedy Toole
Norman Doidge
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