Category: Reviewed by Chrissie

I usually hate admitting when something makes me feel this stupid, but I just have to share this crazy story with y’all.  I got about halfway through Living With Jackie Chan and actually got into a conversation with a friend about how much I love Jo Knowles’ books before I realized this was a companion book to Jumping Off Swings!  Seriously…  I was telling her about how Jumping Off Swings affected me so much that I literally could not put the book down before I finished it, woke my husband up with my crying, and then had to go in and cuddle with my sleeping son [at 2am] before I could calm down enough to sleep.  (I was pregnant for my daughter at the time, so I guess you can blame some of it on the hormones too!)  When I started to describe this story, I stopped talking mid-sentence and said, “OH MY GOD!  Josh is the guy from the first book!”  Yeah…  I’m quick like that!  Maybe it wasn’t mentioned in the book review I read when I ordered this book?  And, I know I didn’t read the book flap before starting to read the book when I picked it up off the shelf…  But, still, I loved Jumping Off Swings so much that it’s hard to believe I forgot the character names and also didn’t put two and two together when I first started this story.  /sigh

Living With Jackie Chan is a continuation of Josh’s story.  After getting Ellie pregnant, he feels like a horrible person and finds it difficult to move on with his life.  His Uncle Larry agrees to let Josh live with him while he finishes high school.  And, while starting over in a new city with a “clean slate” seems like a good idea, Josh finds it impossible to embrace this fresh start.  Even if no one at the new school knows what happened last year, HE knows what he did and can’t manage to forgive himself.  Fortunately, Uncle Larry convinces Josh to help out with his karate classes at the local YMCA — which provides Josh with a positive new focus and a chance to make a new friend, Stella.

Eleanor & Park takes place in 1986, so it is technically “historical fiction” to the teens I serve today…  I mean, they weren’t even BORN yet!  (Wow, that makes me feel old!)  Though it was fun to reminisce about big hair, bold makeup, “Walkman” tape players, and phones on a cord, this story was not a fluffy look back on the 80s.  It was a touching story about how one person can make all the difference when the whole world seems to be against you.  About how halting conversations about shared interests, like comic books and music, can open the door to friendship.  And about how a barely-there friendship can blossom and turn into love.  Park’s family is “Leave it to Beaver” perfect, and he is relatively popular at school.  Eleanor’s home life is horrid and the kids at school take great pleasure in bullying her about her clothes, weight, and unruly red hair.  And yet, Park can’t help himself.  He doesn’t care what everyone else thinks about “his” Eleanor.  He only knows he will do whatever it takes to try and make her happy.

To be completely honest, there was only one thing I didn’t like about this book… It ended!  Seriously, though, I *really* hope that the ending was not just a “form your own opinion about what happened” thing but, instead, left it open for a sequel.  A girl can hope, right?!?  😉

Other than the fact that I had to listen to some of the dialogue bits twice to understand what the Wee Free Men were saying in the audiobook (because they speak with a very thick Scottish brogue), I loved this book!  Tiffany Aching is a young witch who has to rescue her young brother, Wentworth, from the clutches of the evil Queen of Fairyland.  Though Tiffany doesn’t actually know any magic, her teacher/mentor, a witch named Miss Tick, reassures her that having a keen eye and an attention to detail is often more practical than magic.  After witnessing her attack on a monster, using only a frying pan, the Wee Free Men [aka the Nac Mac Feegle] decide they would like to help Tiffany on her quest.  And, while it sounds awesome for Tiffany to have a band of men to help her out, you have to consider that these particular “men” are six inches tall and best known for their sheep-stealing, drinking, and fighting.  If you enjoy fantasies and/or stories that make you laugh out loud, you should definitely check this one out.

Cent [short for Millicent] is a 16-year-old girl who, despite being homeschooled in the remote Canadian wilderness, has seen more of the world than many people will see in a lifetime.  She sometimes takes off at a moment’s notice to go shopping or surfing halfway around the world, but her parents don’t own a private jet or helicopter.  In fact, the helipad on their property is so overgrown with weeds it’s barely recognizable.  How do they get there, then?  They jump.  All they have to do is concentrate on where they want to go and they can teleport themselves.  Though unable to jump herself, Cent has always been brought along by one of her parents.  Until one day, while snowboarding without permission, when she nearly gets caught in an avalanche and accidentally learns how to jump herself.  Cent gets excited by all the possibilities her jumping has opened up to her… but it terrifies her parents.  Not only do they have the usual parental worries of their daughter getting hurt in the usual ways, but they’re also worried that Cent could wind up kidnapped by the scientists who once held her father captive in an attempt to discover how jumping actually works.

Tom always wished that he was special enough to be a Chosen One who would get whisked off to an alternate reality in which he was the only one who could save the day.  The way he saw it, though, he just wasn’t “unspecial” enough… Until the night someone named Gark showed up and told him he WAS foretold in a prophecy and that he needed to enter a portal to another world to help save a kingdom!  Although it initially seemed like a dream come true, it soon became apparent that the unnamed kingdom [which Tom dubbed “Crap Kingdom”] was full of pessimistic people who couldn’t really care less about whether or not Tom saved them.  And Gark, who was the only one actually excited about Tom’s arrival, kept calling him “Tim.”  Yeah.  Being the chosen one wasn’t necessarily so great after all.

Despite the fact that this is a fantasy book, a great deal of it takes place on Earth and could easily be mistaken for contemporary fiction.  Original, funny, and well-written.  What’s not to like?!?  I would highly recommend this book to fantasy readers who want a break from books that require a glossary and pronunciation guide and/or fans of humorous books who wouldn’t mind a little reality bending.  People who enjoyed The True Meaning of Smekday should probably pick this one up, too!

When Tamsin was born, her grandmother predicted that she would be one of the most Talented witches in their family.  Now that she is 17 years old, it seems pretty clear that Tamsin has no Talent and her grandmother must have been mistaken.  She is really embarrassed by her lack of Talent and frequently wishes to be more like her older, more beautiful, and extremely Talented sister, Rowena.  While working for her family’s bookstore/magic shop, Tamsin is approached by a handsome young professor who would like help locating a family heirloom cuckoo clock.  Unfortunately, Tamsin has no idea that locating this clock could upset the balance of good and evil.  So, when he mistakenly calls her Rowena [who is fairly well known for her ability to locate lost items], she chooses not to correct him and, instead, tries to use this as an opportunity to prove herself.

To say that Josie Moraine has a very unusual life would be an understatement and a half!  Though she is only in high school, she already lives on her own and works two jobs — as a clerk at a local bookstore and as a maid of sorts for the brothel where her mother works.  That’s right…  Josie’s mother is a prostitute.  Not to mention a cold, calculating, unloving woman who only ever seems to think of herself.  And, as if that isn’t bad enough, Josie’s mother also happens to be in love with an abusive gangster-type.  So, when her mom disappears from the French Quarter the very same morning that a man turns up dead, Josie isn’t sure what to do or what to believe.  She has never wanted anything so much as a chance to get out of the “Big Easy” and to get a good education, but her mother and her mother’s foolishness always seem to get in the way.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this story was how the entire cast of characters was so well fleshed-out.  I get annoyed when authors skimp on developing the supporting characters, but Sepetys did not disappoint!  My favorite was Willie — the brothel madam who knew Josie was bound for bigger and better things, regardless of the fact that many people assumed/hoped she would simply follow in her mother’s footsteps.  I loved that Willie did her best to support Josie and to encourage her to want more from life instead of being upset that Josie didn’t want to join the [ahem] family business.  If you like historical fiction and/or mysteries, this is a book you won’t want to miss.

Let me just start off by saying that I can’t imagine not loving anything written by Sara Zarr.  All of her stories [see also Story of a Girl, Sweethearts, and How to Save a Life] are just so compelling, and her characters so realistic that I become very quickly attached.  Finishing one of her books always makes me feel like a friend moved away; very bitter-sweet. One of the reasons I thought this particular book was so great is because it was still completely accessible even though I don’t know a ton about classical music or playing piano [so you shouldn’t let that stand in your way if you’re not well versed either].

In this story, we meet Lucy Beck-Moreau — musical prodigy and former concert pianist.  She used to be a pretty big deal.  I’m talking traveling the world, recording songs with symphonies, and hearing herself on the radio big…  But then, she suddenly stopped performing.  Everyone has a theory about what happened, but no one knows the real story.  Now that Lucy’s younger brother has a new teacher — because the former teacher dropped dead in the middle of a lesson — Lucy is starting to deal with her feelings about the whole situation, partly in hopes that she can help her brother avoid the burnout she experienced.

I am so grateful that someone let Susan Beth Pfeffer in on the “secret definition of trilogy” [as Scott Westerfeld put it when he wrote the dedication for Extras].  I was not OK with leaving the Moon Crash Trilogy as it ended in This World We Live In…  I needed to know what happened next!  Luckily, Susan Beth Pfeffer listened to her fans and kept writing even when her publisher wasn’t [initially] interested in a fourth Moon Crash book.

Miranda’s younger brother, Jon, is now 16 years old.  As the baby of the family, he has gotten used to a life of relative privilege.  Even when food was extremely scarce, people made sure he was fed.  When work needed to be done, others worked harder so he didn’t have to.  And when Alex had only 3 slips to get into an enclave — which would provide more safety, food, and educational opportunities for the people within — everyone agreed that those slips should go to Jon, his stepmother, Lisa, and her baby, Gabe.  Many clavers got in simply because of the money and power they had before the moon crash, so Jon’s so-called friends often remind him that he’s a “slip” and could be kicked out if he doesn’t play along/act the part of a claver well enough.  Since his “job” is playing soccer and his status as a claver gets him as much food, booze, and trouble-free mischief as he wants, though, Jon is often all too happy to play along.

People in White Birch, including some of Jon’s own family members [Miranda, Alex, and his mom], are known as grubs and often work for clavers in the capacity of domestic servants, drivers, and greenhouse workers.  I was extremely uncomfortable with Jon’s hateful attitude toward grubs and how cavalierly he acted despite his family’s position, but I could see how easily a teenager might dissociate for the sake of fitting in and surviving in such a harsh reality.  As much as I hated Jon and the things he did, it made all too much sense that a spoiled kid raised in a post-apocalyptic world would turn out this way.  Luckily, Jon experienced some decent character development and the ending left me feeling like there was hope for Jon and his family… and maybe even a fifth Moon Crash book!  😉

Sarah Dessen is a fantastic writer.  And, if you like one of her books, chances are good that you will like them all.  I was especially pleased with the fact that this book features cameos of both people and places from other Dessen novels, like some of the characters (and even the beach town of Colby) from Along for the Ride and the website UMe.com [very much like Facebook] from Lock and Key.  But, just in case simply knowing that Sarah Dessen wrote this novel is not enough for you, I supposed I can spend some time explaining what it’s about!

Luke and Emaline are high school sweethearts.  Even though she doesn’t quite understand what Luke sees in her, she loves just about everything about him — he’s nice, fun to hang out with, and also quite good looking. Even though her life isn’t perfect, she is perfectly content.  Then, Theo shows up.  Other than the fact that he is also good looking, he is practically Luke’s polar opposite –  he’s serious more often than not, prefers fine dining to hanging out with friend at a burger joint, and he’s extremely driven rather than laid back.  Nearly everything Theo does is in an effort to be the BEST EVER.  It doesn’t make sense, but Emaline finds herself drawn to Theo and soon begins questioning everything about her life.  I recommend this book to people who enjoy their romance with a side order of deep thoughts.