Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
I have wanted to read this for a while, long before it made the TAYSHAS list. I loved Alex, Approximately by the same author, and figured there was a good chance I'd like this too. I did. The thing is, neither book really should be on the TAYSHAS list. Both are fun to read, but both are basically fluff--not that there's anything wrong with fluff.
Zorie is almost a senior in high school in the San Francisco area. Her parents are an acupuncturist and masseuse in their own clinic, so Zorie works for them as a receptionist. Her father's clientele has started to dwindle because, according to her father, of the sex toy shop next door. Zorie is forbidden to go over there because her father hates the owners, who used to be their friends before they opened their shop. Zorie goes to retrieve a misdelivered package, which turns out to be photos of her father with another woman. This is not even the main conflict of the story either.
The main conflict starts out with Zorie being invited to go on a glamping trip with a friend from school, Reagan. Apparently, Zorie and Reagan used to be fairly close, but then Reagan's family became wealthy, so Zorie was pushed to the side a little. Zorie doesn't really want to go on this trip, but she feels pressured by her mother and Reagan, so she goes. Turns out there will be boys on the trip. One of these boys, Brett, Zorie has a huge crush on. Another boy, Lennon, is the son of the sex shop owners, and broke Zorie's heart at homecoming the previous year.
So they go glamping. Brett gets them all kicked out of the glamping compound because he steals wine and then pees on a neighboring yurt. It's still ok at this point because they were going to go camping in the back country anyway, so they do that a little earlier than expected. Once there, Brett's tent is destroyed by a bear because he can't be bothered to follow simple instructions. This causes a rift between Reagan and Zorie because Reagan and Brett are going out, but only because Reagan is making it a big deal. By this point, Zorie sees what an idiot Brett is, so the thrill is gone. In response, Reagan, Brett and the other two people who came with them up and leave Lennon and Zorie to find their way home.
Over the course of the next couple of days, Zorie and Lennon confront their feelings about their past and present. There's a snake bite, and a lot of hiking. Then we're brought back to the problem of Zorie's dad.
Again, this was a nice read, but after a certain point, all I kept thinking was "Can they just go ahead and have sex already. Jeez."
Monday, January 21, 2019
Monday, January 14, 2019
TAYSHAS 2019 #11
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
This is one of the top ten picks on this year's list, and it is well deserved. It is told in verse, so it is a quicker read than most, but it has a lot to say.
Xiomara is about to be a sophomore in high school. She's a twin. She lives in Harlem. Her mother wanted to be a nun before she met the twins' father, and their father got around, if you know what I mean. Xiomara feels like she doesn't live up to their expectations, and she writes poetry to deal with her feelings.
Even her poetry seems to get her into trouble with her mother though, and it costs X seemingly everything.
This is one of the top ten picks on this year's list, and it is well deserved. It is told in verse, so it is a quicker read than most, but it has a lot to say.
Xiomara is about to be a sophomore in high school. She's a twin. She lives in Harlem. Her mother wanted to be a nun before she met the twins' father, and their father got around, if you know what I mean. Xiomara feels like she doesn't live up to their expectations, and she writes poetry to deal with her feelings.
Even her poetry seems to get her into trouble with her mother though, and it costs X seemingly everything.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
TAYSHAS 2019 #10
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Sometimes you just need an easy read, and this was definitely an easy read. Sometimes I wonder why books like this make the TAYSHAS list. I say this not because the book was bad in any way, but because I tend to think books that make award lists should offer a bit more substance. Then again, I most likely wouldn't have read this if it hadn't made the TAYSHAS list, so there's that.
Dimple just graduated high school. She is going to Stanford in the fall. She is an only child of Indian parents. She is very interested in web design and coding. She has big plans for herself, but those plans don't necessarily line up with her parents' plans for her. If it were up to her mother, Dimple would marry the man of their choosing and have children as soon as possible. Dimple doesn't necessarily want that for herself. So, when the opportunity to go to a summer program/contest at SFSU comes up, Dimple is surprised that her parents let her go.
Rishi also just graduated high school, and is going to MIT in the fall. He is the oldest of two sons born to Indian parents. His passion lies in art, but he is going to study engineering because he can't stand to let his parents down. He also has an opportunity to go to the summer program/contest at SFSU, but his heart really isn't in it. He is going to meet the girl that his parents (and hers) have decided will be his wife. He is to use this time to get to know her and woo her.
When Dimple and Rishi first meet, it isn't love at first sight, at least for Dimple. She is startled and throws her iced coffee at Rishi. Then, they are paired up for the duration of this summer program. They get to know each other, and if you are a sap like me, your heart is going to swell when they finally kiss about halfway through the book. Will Dimple give up everything she wants to be with Rishi?
Like I said, this was an easy read. A sweet love story. It was also very predictable. Even still, I enjoyed it.
Sometimes you just need an easy read, and this was definitely an easy read. Sometimes I wonder why books like this make the TAYSHAS list. I say this not because the book was bad in any way, but because I tend to think books that make award lists should offer a bit more substance. Then again, I most likely wouldn't have read this if it hadn't made the TAYSHAS list, so there's that.
Dimple just graduated high school. She is going to Stanford in the fall. She is an only child of Indian parents. She is very interested in web design and coding. She has big plans for herself, but those plans don't necessarily line up with her parents' plans for her. If it were up to her mother, Dimple would marry the man of their choosing and have children as soon as possible. Dimple doesn't necessarily want that for herself. So, when the opportunity to go to a summer program/contest at SFSU comes up, Dimple is surprised that her parents let her go.
Rishi also just graduated high school, and is going to MIT in the fall. He is the oldest of two sons born to Indian parents. His passion lies in art, but he is going to study engineering because he can't stand to let his parents down. He also has an opportunity to go to the summer program/contest at SFSU, but his heart really isn't in it. He is going to meet the girl that his parents (and hers) have decided will be his wife. He is to use this time to get to know her and woo her.
When Dimple and Rishi first meet, it isn't love at first sight, at least for Dimple. She is startled and throws her iced coffee at Rishi. Then, they are paired up for the duration of this summer program. They get to know each other, and if you are a sap like me, your heart is going to swell when they finally kiss about halfway through the book. Will Dimple give up everything she wants to be with Rishi?
Like I said, this was an easy read. A sweet love story. It was also very predictable. Even still, I enjoyed it.
Friday, January 4, 2019
TAYSHAS 2019 #9
Bang by Barry Lyga
Everything I knew I wanted to read on the TAYSHAS list is currently checked out on Overdrive, so I had to look a little farther than I was prepared for at this point. No worries though. I have read this author before, and knew it would likely be a good read. I wasn't wrong.
Sebastian is fourteen years old. It's June and near the end of his freshman year of high school. It also happens to be the tenth anniversary of the day he accidentally shot his four-month-old sister. Sebastian has let this one act when he was a toddler define his life. He has few friends, lives with his mother (who has removed all evidence of his baby sister from the house), and sees his father only twice a year. Before the end of summer vacation, he plans to kill himself. Needless to say, Sebastian is not in a good place. It doesn't help that everyone in his town knows what he did, and that always colors their feelings for him.
So when he meets Aneesa when he is out riding his bike one day after school, it changes things, at least for a little while. She is new to the area and doesn't know what he did. Sebastian and Aneesa start spending a great deal of time together, and Sebastian clearly has feelings beyond mere friendship for her. He even shares his secret about his sister, and it doesn't scare Aneesa off. Even better, the "voice" that tells Sebastian he should kill himself has been all but silenced during this time.
Unfortunately, when school starts back, things change, and not for the better. All those old feelings start to come back, and what really sends Sebastian over the edge is a semester-long assignment for his English class. He doesn't react well.
I won't spoil the end because, as you know, that's not how I roll. This was definitely worth the read.
Everything I knew I wanted to read on the TAYSHAS list is currently checked out on Overdrive, so I had to look a little farther than I was prepared for at this point. No worries though. I have read this author before, and knew it would likely be a good read. I wasn't wrong.
Sebastian is fourteen years old. It's June and near the end of his freshman year of high school. It also happens to be the tenth anniversary of the day he accidentally shot his four-month-old sister. Sebastian has let this one act when he was a toddler define his life. He has few friends, lives with his mother (who has removed all evidence of his baby sister from the house), and sees his father only twice a year. Before the end of summer vacation, he plans to kill himself. Needless to say, Sebastian is not in a good place. It doesn't help that everyone in his town knows what he did, and that always colors their feelings for him.
So when he meets Aneesa when he is out riding his bike one day after school, it changes things, at least for a little while. She is new to the area and doesn't know what he did. Sebastian and Aneesa start spending a great deal of time together, and Sebastian clearly has feelings beyond mere friendship for her. He even shares his secret about his sister, and it doesn't scare Aneesa off. Even better, the "voice" that tells Sebastian he should kill himself has been all but silenced during this time.
Unfortunately, when school starts back, things change, and not for the better. All those old feelings start to come back, and what really sends Sebastian over the edge is a semester-long assignment for his English class. He doesn't react well.
I won't spoil the end because, as you know, that's not how I roll. This was definitely worth the read.
Thursday, January 3, 2019
TAYSHAS 2019 #8
What the Night Sings by Vesper Stamper
I read this one because it came highly recommended by my school librarian... not necessarily a recommendation for me, but for a coworker. Whatever.
This is a novel set during the Holocaust. In Germany. Of course, I wanted to read it because Holocaust novels are generally, in my experience, interesting. This was interesting, but not on par with Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl or Elie Wiesel's Night. Perhaps this is because this is entirely fiction based on real events, written by someone who didn't experience the Holocaust first hand. Again, it wasn't badly written in any way, it just didn't resonate quite the same way that those nonfiction books did.
When the book starts, Gerta is sixteen. She is comforting the woman in the bunk with her at the Bergen Belsen camp. Her bunkmate dies in her arms, and literally minutes later, the camp is liberated by the British. During the liberation, Gerta is removed from her barrack and placed on the ground with a young man named Lev. Thus begins a friendship between the two.
There are some flashbacks to Gerta's growing up and capture. She did not know she was Jewish, as her father and stepmother had some forged documents to show she was Aryan. For the longest time, Gerta thought it was her stepmother who turned her and her father in.
At one point, another young man, Michah, shows up at the camp. He, as it turns out, is the son of Gerta's bunkmate who died. Gerta has a bit of a crush on him, but he turns out to be a player. Meanwhile, Lev has a giant crush on Gerta. He even asks her to marry him.
One underlying thing over the whole book is the role music plays in Gerta's life. She was in training for the opera, and plays the viola because her father was a violist. Music is what kept her from the ovens in the camps, and music is what kept her going.
Again, this wasn't a badly written book, but it did lack something that I can't quite put my finger on.
I read this one because it came highly recommended by my school librarian... not necessarily a recommendation for me, but for a coworker. Whatever.
This is a novel set during the Holocaust. In Germany. Of course, I wanted to read it because Holocaust novels are generally, in my experience, interesting. This was interesting, but not on par with Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl or Elie Wiesel's Night. Perhaps this is because this is entirely fiction based on real events, written by someone who didn't experience the Holocaust first hand. Again, it wasn't badly written in any way, it just didn't resonate quite the same way that those nonfiction books did.
When the book starts, Gerta is sixteen. She is comforting the woman in the bunk with her at the Bergen Belsen camp. Her bunkmate dies in her arms, and literally minutes later, the camp is liberated by the British. During the liberation, Gerta is removed from her barrack and placed on the ground with a young man named Lev. Thus begins a friendship between the two.
There are some flashbacks to Gerta's growing up and capture. She did not know she was Jewish, as her father and stepmother had some forged documents to show she was Aryan. For the longest time, Gerta thought it was her stepmother who turned her and her father in.
At one point, another young man, Michah, shows up at the camp. He, as it turns out, is the son of Gerta's bunkmate who died. Gerta has a bit of a crush on him, but he turns out to be a player. Meanwhile, Lev has a giant crush on Gerta. He even asks her to marry him.
One underlying thing over the whole book is the role music plays in Gerta's life. She was in training for the opera, and plays the viola because her father was a violist. Music is what kept her from the ovens in the camps, and music is what kept her going.
Again, this wasn't a badly written book, but it did lack something that I can't quite put my finger on.
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