This is #4 for me from the TAYSHAS list. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga started a little slow for me, but got better as I read into it.
Jazz is in high school, and is the son of one of the most sadistic serial killers this country has ever seen. His dad, Billy Dent, taught him everything about killing before he was caught, convicted, and confined. Jazz wants to rise above his heritage, and wants to be normal. He fears he'll be just like his father, and he fights against it.
Unfortunately, a new serial killer has come to town emulating the murders that Jazz's father committed. Jazz wants to help the cops, and once they realize that Jazz may be their best chance to catch the killer, they let him.
Toward the end, there's a nice twist that makes you want to read the inevitable sequel. I'll be reading it for sure. Also, ABC Family is making this into a movie. I just hope they don't screw it up.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Titanic poetry
I am on a roll with these TAYSHAS books. I just finished The Watch that Ends the Night by Allan Wolf. It's a book of free verse poetry written about the sinking of Titanic in 1912. I don't usually like poetry, which is ironic since I am an English teacher, but I didn't mind this.
I do love historical fiction, and this book fit that genre nicely. The poems are written by all manner of beings, from the iceberg the ship hit, to ship rats, to passengers, and those working on the ship. This book tells the story, beginning to end of Titanic. It references the building of the ship, and the lives of those on the ship prior to boarding the ship all the way through the sinking of the ship, and making their way to New York. I went ahead and read the notes section too so I could learn a bit more about the characters I was reading about. Being fiction, the author took some liberties, but they were seamless, and I only know about them because the author tells the reader in his notes where some of the falsehoods lie.
Reading the different points of view opened up Titanic in a whole new way for me. The sinking of the ship is still depressing to me, and my heart hurts for all the lives lost. Reading this book brought it all back. Still, it was a good book, and I am glad I read it.
I do love historical fiction, and this book fit that genre nicely. The poems are written by all manner of beings, from the iceberg the ship hit, to ship rats, to passengers, and those working on the ship. This book tells the story, beginning to end of Titanic. It references the building of the ship, and the lives of those on the ship prior to boarding the ship all the way through the sinking of the ship, and making their way to New York. I went ahead and read the notes section too so I could learn a bit more about the characters I was reading about. Being fiction, the author took some liberties, but they were seamless, and I only know about them because the author tells the reader in his notes where some of the falsehoods lie.
Reading the different points of view opened up Titanic in a whole new way for me. The sinking of the ship is still depressing to me, and my heart hurts for all the lives lost. Reading this book brought it all back. Still, it was a good book, and I am glad I read it.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Cinder
TAYSHAS book #2, Cinder by Marissa Meyers.
New take on Cinderella. She's a cyborg. Only one stepsister is heinous, and halfway through, I knew what the "surprise" was.
Unlike most Cinderella stories, this one didn't piss me off. I actually enjoyed this one, even thought the premise is not what I typically read.
New take on Cinderella. She's a cyborg. Only one stepsister is heinous, and halfway through, I knew what the "surprise" was.
Unlike most Cinderella stories, this one didn't piss me off. I actually enjoyed this one, even thought the premise is not what I typically read.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Anna Dressed in Blood
Now that we have the official TAYSHAS list, I have started on my quest to read as many of them as I can. Yes, there is something in it for me if I am the faculty member who reads the most books from the list, but that's not why I'm doing it. I'm a reader who teaches high school. If I can recommend some books that are aimed at them, and get them to read, it can only be a good thing.
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake was my first successful foray into the TAYSHAS books. I say this because I read two that were on the preliminary list, but were cut from the final list. I couldn't have chosen a better start on this if I tried.
Cas Lowood is seventeen and a ghost killer. This means that all those "urban legends" about ghosts who do something to people, he tracks down and kills. He's been doing this for a while-partially because it's his destiny (his father was a ghost killer too), and partially to avenge his father one day. His father was killed by a particularly nasty ghost. Cas's mother is a witch, but you could call her a good witch, since she doesn't generally get involved in the dirtier side of withcraft.
Cas and his mother move frequently due to the nature of ghost killing. He moves to where the ghosts are. Thunder Bay is the city they are in right now. Cas is supposed to be killing Anna, a girl who was murdered in 1958, but has been wreaking havoc in her old house ever since.
Because he moves around alot, Cas doesn't have many friends, and this all changes in Thunder Bay. Carmel, the girl he meets on the first day of school, becomes a good friend to Cas, as does Thomas, a young psychic and witch. Good thing they become his friends because Cas is really going to need their help to kill Anna. Strange things happen when they go to carry out this task, and it's for that reason that I read most of the book after I got home from work today: I wanted to know what was going to happen. Don't you love when books draw you in like that?
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake was my first successful foray into the TAYSHAS books. I say this because I read two that were on the preliminary list, but were cut from the final list. I couldn't have chosen a better start on this if I tried.
Cas Lowood is seventeen and a ghost killer. This means that all those "urban legends" about ghosts who do something to people, he tracks down and kills. He's been doing this for a while-partially because it's his destiny (his father was a ghost killer too), and partially to avenge his father one day. His father was killed by a particularly nasty ghost. Cas's mother is a witch, but you could call her a good witch, since she doesn't generally get involved in the dirtier side of withcraft.
Cas and his mother move frequently due to the nature of ghost killing. He moves to where the ghosts are. Thunder Bay is the city they are in right now. Cas is supposed to be killing Anna, a girl who was murdered in 1958, but has been wreaking havoc in her old house ever since.
Because he moves around alot, Cas doesn't have many friends, and this all changes in Thunder Bay. Carmel, the girl he meets on the first day of school, becomes a good friend to Cas, as does Thomas, a young psychic and witch. Good thing they become his friends because Cas is really going to need their help to kill Anna. Strange things happen when they go to carry out this task, and it's for that reason that I read most of the book after I got home from work today: I wanted to know what was going to happen. Don't you love when books draw you in like that?
Monday, January 7, 2013
Charlotte
Charlotte...Pride and Prejudice Continues by Karen Aminadra
I may have mentioned it before, but Pride and Prejudice is one of my very favorite books. Sadly, Jane Austen never added to the story herself, but several modern authors have taken it upon themselves to continue the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Some of these "sequels" are very good, some not so much. Charlotte falls somewhere in the middle.
As the title suggests, this story is about Lizzie's friend, Charlotte Lucas, who married Lizzie's cousin, Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins has always been portrayed as something of a ninny who is interested in ingratiating himself with his betters. At the beginning of this book, he is the same. By the end, he is transformed.
Charlotte, has always been an understated character, in my opinion. Austen didn't give us much to work with, so authors tend to do what they will with her. In this one, she is somewhat strongwilled, and invites the ire of Lady Catherine. Oh, and somehow Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, falls in love with Charlotte.
This story follows Mr. Collins and Charlotte as they discover their true feelings for one another. Nice story, but not as captivating as the original.
I may have mentioned it before, but Pride and Prejudice is one of my very favorite books. Sadly, Jane Austen never added to the story herself, but several modern authors have taken it upon themselves to continue the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Some of these "sequels" are very good, some not so much. Charlotte falls somewhere in the middle.
As the title suggests, this story is about Lizzie's friend, Charlotte Lucas, who married Lizzie's cousin, Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins has always been portrayed as something of a ninny who is interested in ingratiating himself with his betters. At the beginning of this book, he is the same. By the end, he is transformed.
Charlotte, has always been an understated character, in my opinion. Austen didn't give us much to work with, so authors tend to do what they will with her. In this one, she is somewhat strongwilled, and invites the ire of Lady Catherine. Oh, and somehow Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, falls in love with Charlotte.
This story follows Mr. Collins and Charlotte as they discover their true feelings for one another. Nice story, but not as captivating as the original.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Revolution
Just finished reading Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. This book was given to me for Christmas by a student in my first period class. A student who has uncanny similarities to myself. She wrote a sweet message to me in the front.
I would've read the book simply because a student gave it to me. I mean, if they have taken the time to select a book for me, the least I can do is read it. I'm usually leery about reading books people buy for me, unless it's something specific I have requested, so I was a bit leery going into this as well. I am so glad I read it though, as this is one of the best young adult books I have ever read.
This book starts out in modern day Brooklyn, and our heroine is Andi. Andi is damaged. She goes to a swanky school, but hangs out with the wrong crowd. She's isolated everyone around her because she doesn't feel like she deserves to live. Why? Because two years before, her brother, Truman, was killed, and Andi feels responsible for his death.
Andi lives with her mother, who has coping issues of her own. Andi is a musician. It's Christmas break of her senior year, and she is facing being kicked out of school because she has not written her senior thesis. When Andi's absent father finds out, he goes ballistic. He has Andi's mother put in a mental hospital to cope with her grief, and drags Andi to Paris with him.
The purpose of the Paris trip is for Andi's father, a Nobel proze winning geneticist, to determine whether a heart in a jar belongs to the lost king of France, Louis-Charles, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. While in Paris, Andi is supposed to be working on her senior thesis about a composer who, apparently, had a huge influence on artists like Led Zepplin and Radiohead.
While staying with her father's friend, G, an historian of the French Revolution, Andi comes across a guitar case-a very old guitar case, with a defective lock. I should mention that Andi wears a key around her neck that belonged to her brother. One day, Andi is messing with the lock, and on a lark, tries her key-it works. They key opens a secret pocket within the guitar case. In the secret pocket is a diary, the diary of a young girl, recounting events from the French Revolution.
Throughout all of this, Andi is spiralling downward. She pops antidepressants like m&m's, and thinks often of killing herself. Only music seems to save her. One day, she is playing her guitar, and meets Virgil, with whom Andi feels an immediate connection. Andi and Virgil become fast friends, singing each other to sleep over the telephone while she is in Paris.
Andi gets wrapped up in the diary of the young girl, Alexandrine, or Alex, who was the companion to young Louis-Charles, the dauphin. Andi feels a kinship to Alex, and reads the diary to its end.
After planning to commit suicide one night, Andi runs in to Virgil, who literally saves her life. He invites her to play a party with him in the catacombs. Andi goes. She hits her head, and ends up in 18th century Paris, taking on the persona of Alex, based on what she has learned from the diary.
This book takes you on an exciting ride through the modern day and revolutionary France. Your heart bleeds for Andi and Alex when you read, and you just want them to be ok. I enjoyed this book for those reasons.
I would've read the book simply because a student gave it to me. I mean, if they have taken the time to select a book for me, the least I can do is read it. I'm usually leery about reading books people buy for me, unless it's something specific I have requested, so I was a bit leery going into this as well. I am so glad I read it though, as this is one of the best young adult books I have ever read.
This book starts out in modern day Brooklyn, and our heroine is Andi. Andi is damaged. She goes to a swanky school, but hangs out with the wrong crowd. She's isolated everyone around her because she doesn't feel like she deserves to live. Why? Because two years before, her brother, Truman, was killed, and Andi feels responsible for his death.
Andi lives with her mother, who has coping issues of her own. Andi is a musician. It's Christmas break of her senior year, and she is facing being kicked out of school because she has not written her senior thesis. When Andi's absent father finds out, he goes ballistic. He has Andi's mother put in a mental hospital to cope with her grief, and drags Andi to Paris with him.
The purpose of the Paris trip is for Andi's father, a Nobel proze winning geneticist, to determine whether a heart in a jar belongs to the lost king of France, Louis-Charles, son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. While in Paris, Andi is supposed to be working on her senior thesis about a composer who, apparently, had a huge influence on artists like Led Zepplin and Radiohead.
While staying with her father's friend, G, an historian of the French Revolution, Andi comes across a guitar case-a very old guitar case, with a defective lock. I should mention that Andi wears a key around her neck that belonged to her brother. One day, Andi is messing with the lock, and on a lark, tries her key-it works. They key opens a secret pocket within the guitar case. In the secret pocket is a diary, the diary of a young girl, recounting events from the French Revolution.
Throughout all of this, Andi is spiralling downward. She pops antidepressants like m&m's, and thinks often of killing herself. Only music seems to save her. One day, she is playing her guitar, and meets Virgil, with whom Andi feels an immediate connection. Andi and Virgil become fast friends, singing each other to sleep over the telephone while she is in Paris.
Andi gets wrapped up in the diary of the young girl, Alexandrine, or Alex, who was the companion to young Louis-Charles, the dauphin. Andi feels a kinship to Alex, and reads the diary to its end.
After planning to commit suicide one night, Andi runs in to Virgil, who literally saves her life. He invites her to play a party with him in the catacombs. Andi goes. She hits her head, and ends up in 18th century Paris, taking on the persona of Alex, based on what she has learned from the diary.
This book takes you on an exciting ride through the modern day and revolutionary France. Your heart bleeds for Andi and Alex when you read, and you just want them to be ok. I enjoyed this book for those reasons.
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