This is a place for books that I didn't fully review.
Maybe I listed my likes and dislikes, had a little short paragraph, or a few sentences to convey my feelings on the book, but whatever the "review" is, all of them are short and simple. (hence the clever name)
Today I have some short reviews for Printz award winners (including honor books)! I have made it a goal of mine to read every Printz award winner. The main reason why I decided to do this is because the Printz award is for literary excellence in YA literature, which I am familiar with, but it also pushes me a little bit out of my comfort zone to books I would not normally pick up.
So far I have read 48 Printz books. These three books are some of the ones I've read recently.
The Shoveler, the Freak, CanIHelpYou?, Loretta the Flea-Circus Ring Mistress, and First-Class Malcolm. These are the five teenagers lost in the Hemmings family's maze of tangled secrets. Only a generation removed from being simple Pennsylvania potato farmers, Gottfried and Marla Hemmings managed to trade digging spuds for developing subdivisions and now sit atop a seven-figure bank account, wealth they've declined to pass on to their adult children or their teenage grand children.
"Because we want them to thrive," Marla always says.
What does thriving look like? Like carrying a snow shovel everywhere. Like selling pot at the Arby's drive-thru window. Like a first class ticket to Jamaica between cancer treatments. Like a flea-circus in a doublewide. Like the GPS coordinates to a mound of dirt in a New Jersey forest.
As the rot just beneath the surface of the Hemmings precious white suburban respectability begins to spread, the far flung grand children gradually find their ways back to each other, just in time to uncover the terrible cost of maintaining the family name.
Review
I have mixed feelings for this book. It took me a while to even get into this book. We follow multiple characters, some of which without names, and we only see bits and pieces of their lives. I was confused and I just couldn't fully get into the writing. Once I got into the book, I did start to appreciate the writing style. I loved how each character had their own distinct voice, I loved the different imagery throughout, and I loved the weirdness. I was just waiting for everything to come together and when it did I was slightly disappointed. I think it came down to the ending being a little too preachy. There are literal capital letters spelling things out for us and for a book full of interesting symbols to spell things out instead of simply hinting, it just read oddly.
I hereby give this book
3 Stars
Meaning: I liked it
Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage. . . . What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever. . .
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Review
I mostly read this one audio, although I finished this by ebook. I liked that the audiobook was narrated by the author, although I sometimes felt lost because he does have a thick accent (at least to me). The writing was beautiful and I loved the touches of magical realism. Not much seemed to happen in the story at times, which is one of the reasons why I couldn't rate this a full four stars. Even now, as I am writing this review, I cannot recall much of the story and it's only been two months since I've read the book. Still, I can see why this book was nominated for the Printz Award (unlike other books *cough* Why We Broke Up *cough*). The book itself was also highly creative and different from many other books I've read. There is a sort of prequel, My Name is Mina, but I don't think I will be reading that one. Though the author has written another book on the Printz list, so I will be reading more from him.
I hereby give this book
3.5 Stars
Meaning: It was almost amazing, but not quite
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The rite has existed for as long as anyone can remember: when the prince-who-will-be-king comes of age, he must venture out into the gray lands, slay a fierce dragon, and rescue a damsel to be his bride. This is the way things have always been.
When Ama wakes in the arms of Prince Emory, however, she knows none of this. She has no memory of what came before she was captured by the dragon, or what horrors she has faced in its lair. She knows only this handsome prince, the story he tells of her rescue, and her destiny to sit on the throne beside him. Ama comes with Emory back to the kingdom of Harding, hailed as the new princess, welcomed to the court.
However, as soon as her first night falls, she begins to realize that not all is as it seems, that there is more to the legends of the dragons and the damsels than anyone knows–and that the greatest threats to her life may not be behind her, but here, in front of her.
Review
I have conflicting feelings towards this book. It really belongs in the "I don't know what to think of this" category.
This book has an interesting plot, but I guessed a major plot-point within the first chapter [highlight to view spoiler]that the girls are dragons [end of spoiler], but that was never resolved until the second to last page. So, I spent so much of the book just waiting for the reveal. This book doesn't pull punches and discusses a lot of difficult subjects, within a fantasy setting. I think this was a different way to talk about these subjects, but I felt like I was forcing myself to read this book. To put it lightly, this is not a fun book, and I knew that going in.
The ending was a bit of a let-down. The climax is the second to last page, so there is really no falling action. It is just a REALLY HUGE MOMENT WITH LOTS OF REVEALS then its THE END.
Overall, I do think this book has an interesting premise. The writing was fantastic and there were many well-written scenes, but there were also scenes that pulled me out of the book and I often felt like the book was going nowhere.
This book has an interesting plot, but I guessed a major plot-point within the first chapter [highlight to view spoiler]that the girls are dragons [end of spoiler], but that was never resolved until the second to last page. So, I spent so much of the book just waiting for the reveal. This book doesn't pull punches and discusses a lot of difficult subjects, within a fantasy setting. I think this was a different way to talk about these subjects, but I felt like I was forcing myself to read this book. To put it lightly, this is not a fun book, and I knew that going in.
The ending was a bit of a let-down. The climax is the second to last page, so there is really no falling action. It is just a REALLY HUGE MOMENT WITH LOTS OF REVEALS then its THE END.
Overall, I do think this book has an interesting premise. The writing was fantastic and there were many well-written scenes, but there were also scenes that pulled me out of the book and I often felt like the book was going nowhere.
I hereby give this book
???
Meaning: I'm not sure how to rate this one
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