The Perfect Plane Read - He's Just Not That Into You

The movie has probably been one of the most disagreed-upon feature films between the sexes that has come along in a long time. Most of guy friends, though curious about the movie, flat out hated it upon watching. For my female friends, I would have to say that about half my female friends also hated it, but the other half felt that they had found the answer to their relationship woes.

Where do I fit in? *guilty look* Okay moving on...

And that's exactly what writers Greg and Liz want you to do--take a good look at yourself, your experiences, your expectations, put them all in perspective, and then MOVE ON from the ideas and the ideals that just don't make any sense. Because honestly? It's not a big deal if he's just not that into you, his loss anyway!

You want to know the truth? This book made me cry, by like, page 3. Because taking an honest look back on yourself and your relationships, it's hard! But there's something nice about reading in a book the stuff that you've been feeling forever, and realizing that you aren't alone in all this. So if you've heard negative things about the book, I'm telling you that they probably didn't read it. Because even if there are certain ideas the Greg and Liz put forth that you don't necessarily agree with, their overall message is indisputable--that you DESERVE the best. Read it on the plane, it's short enough to get through by the time you touch down in your destination. (And if you start crying like me, it's enough time to dry your tears too.)

Book Review: The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Kinsella, Sophie. The Undomestic Goddess. New York: The Dial Press, 2005. 384 pages.

Although I haven't read through her "Shopaholic" series yet, I've thoroughly enjoyed Sophie Kinsella's other romantic fiction. In "The Undomestic Goddess" think Amelia Badelia for grown ups--heroine Samantha Sweeting has done and achieved everything that a young modern woman is expected to do: studied well, graduate from a fabulous law school, work in the most prestigious firm in London, become the youngest partner of said firm--well, ALMOST everything. Just on the cusp of Samantha being named partner of Carter Spink law firm, disaster strikes when Samantha makes a multi-million dollar mistake.

Samantha finds herself on the first train out of the city and at the doorstop of Trish and Eddie Geiger's beautiful mansion. Imagine Samantha's surprise when she is mistaken for being an applicant as the Geigers' maid! Severely dehydrated, disoriented, and in desperate need of some sleep, Samantha decides to keep up the charade until she could find a way home. But upon hearing of her reputation being completely shattered in London, Samantha sees no harm in laying low at the Geigers' for a while. Clean house, cook food, chill out for a while, should be a piece of cake right? Except Samantha doesn't exactly know how to do any of that, which should make the whole experience a tad more complicated, especially since the Geigers' adorable gardener Nathaniel isn't as gullible as their employers. Can Samantha hide in the countryside forever?

In an easy light read style, Kinsella does a wonderful job making her characters likeable and relatable. You can't help but care for what's going to happen to Samantha, even if you're a little skeptical of how easily the Geigers are fooled. The Undomestic Goddess is a great read beach- or pool-side, and for any woman, young or old, who's in need of a little grown up fairytale.

Book Review: The Miles Between by Mary Pearson

Pearson, Mary E. The Miles Between. New York: Henry Holt, 2009. 272 pages.

I first came across Mary Pearson’s novel The Miles Between on a library’s webpage listing the Best New Books for Teens. I recognized Mary Pearson’s name from reading Scribbler of Dreams in middle school and remembered loving the manner in which she developed her stories, using figurative language and imagery with characters that were heartbreakingly beautiful. I was a little worried that this next book would not be as amazing, but The Miles Between definitely delivered, transplanting the reader to a world that is believable but still extraordinary. It tells a story that I think high school students at Brown Summer High School would enjoy—a little bit of mystery, a little bit of angst, a lot about friendship and the connection you make or choose to make with the people that come through your life.

Seventeen-year-old Destiny Faraday has been shipped from boarding school to boarding school since she was seven years old, so she has learned to keep people at a distance and not to make friends. Her entire outlook on life is slightly skewed to the fact that her relationship with her family has been virtually nonexistent since she was put into boarding school. For much of the beginning of the novel the reader is perplexed over why there is a rift between her and her family. The novel’s first person narration from Destiny’s perspective doesn’t make it much easier; but Pearson writes in such a way that the reader is hooked with curiosity and to be extra perceptive to details when Destiny does reveal things about her life.

Even though she strives to be unattached to those around her, Destiny notices that being at Hedgebrook Academy has brought about a change how she interacts with those around her, and again she reflects upon her failed relationship with her family. These thoughts are amplified because of the date of this specific day, October 19th, the anniversary of the day that her life changed, and Destiny wishes that she could have “just one fair day”. A series of strange events, such as finding a car with the engine running, enable Destiny and three of her classmates Seth, Mira, and Aidan to set off on an “unauthorized field trip” in search of the “one fair day” where the good guys win and good things happen to good people. With Seth at the wheel of the “borrowed” car, Destiny discreetly directs their trip in the direction of Langdon, a two-hour drive from Hedgebrook, but more importantly, the town of her parents’ home which she hadn’t seen since she first left for boarding school. On the way, the four not-quite-friends bond over the serendipitous events that cross their paths, their friendship growing rapidly as they share their secrets, even Destiny is inspired to confess at least part of her greatest secret.

Using this book in a classroom could foster really meaningful discussions among students about how people interact with one another. The major themes in The Miles Between include not only friendship, family, and relationships, but the conflict between public and private identity, a conflict that so many teenagers are going through during this time. Going along with this would be the theme of confidentiality, such as what information about oneself should be disclosed or what should be kept a secret—that could be somewhat sensitive to a group of teenagers, but a very universal topic that could elicit great insight from them. Something that I thought could be a fun activity with some academic potential is for students to create their own “fair day” and what that would entail. As mentioned before Pearson writes in such a way that the figurative language add so much to the setting as well as the development of the characters as well as their relationships with one another.

The Miles Between will bring readers on a journey of convoluted connections with a little bit of magic. The writing flows well, and is easy to read in that sense, but the nature of the content being so ambiguous at times offers readers the chance to attempt to piece together the complete picture. At the end of the novel, the readers will be thrown for a big twist, and the pieces will not only make sense, but readers will appreciate the profoundness with which Pearson crafted this story and the depth of the characters and the plot. This novel has the potential to appeal to many different kinds of teenagers, even though the narrator is female, it is definitely not a female-specific book. The twist in the book really is a big surprise, and may be very emotional for those who have lost loved ones before and had to deal with coping afterwards, so a teacher planning to use this book in class should be aware if any of his/her students has had to deal with these kind of issues as they are central to the book. Otherwise, I confidently recommend this book for BSHS because of its vibrant characters, its ability to relate to high school readers, and the major issues of identity, relationships, and loss that are addressed in the novel.

Revised Reading List

Here's my reading list as of now:

The Giver
30 Guys in 30 Days
The Golden Compass
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass
When You Reach Me
Along for the Ride
Howl's Moving Castle
Castle in the Air
House of Many Ways

**still on the lookout for a potential Brown Summer High School book though...

Book Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Dessen, Sarah. 2009. Along for the Ride. New York: Viking. 382 pages.

I will be the first to admit that even to this day, I still buy Sarah Dessen books from the bookstore for my own personal reading. Whenever I need a good dose of real life that just happens to work out in the end with some romance and drama thrown into the mix, something labeled with the name Sarah Dessen always holds the answer. In Along for the Ride we meet Auden, an overachiever and highly motivated student to the core, with two impressive scholar/authors as parents. Auden is also an insomniac, a habit built up from long late-night drives she would take that began when her parents started arguing behind closed doors, eventually splitting up. So Auden's world became more and more immersed in schoolwork and less and less in the world of people and friends. But no matter, as she graduates at almost the top of her high school class and is ready to move on to one of the most highly selective colleges in the area. But in a flash of spontaneity, Auden gets frustrated with her mother's attempts to rewind back into single-hood and Auden finds herself heading to the beach town where her father, new stepmom Heidi, and new baby stepsister live for a summer unlike any she would have foreseen.

The beach town creates the setting for Auden's unlikely mission--to go back and make up for all the things she missed as a kid--girl friends, hanging out, sleepovers, and riding a bike. Life at her dad's also isn't quite what she expected: her stepmom is stressed out of her mind, her dad completely oblivious and out of the picture--it's a pattern Auden's seen with her dad before. So Auden keeps some of her old habits, driving through the streets in the dead of night in order to find another haunt, but no luck for a while until she meets Eli, another night owl and a mysterious once-famous biker star that the townspeople say hasn't touched a bike since his best friend died in a car accident. And together Eli and Auden develop a connection or late nights and long talks over good coffee and fabulous pie, creating a friendship somewhat secret from the rest of their friends. What will Auden make of Eli? A friend closer than she had had for many years, and she cannot help but be drawn to his mysterious nature. But circumstances arise that compel Auden to close herself up again, but now she is clearly changed. But is she too late to go back?

How do the people in our lives make an impact upon our way of thinking, our way of interacting, our way of being? Any readers who like Sarah Dessen will thoroughly enjoy this novel, as well as readers who like Mary Pearson and similar authors. Readers will find themeselves surprised at the depth of content, amused by the vibrancy of well-formed characters and settings, and unable to pull away for even a second until they find out what happens between Auden and Eli. In this story Dessen crafts a real and alluring tale of Auden's summer of letting go, simply being, and for once enjoying life as the present and not as the future.

Book Review: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Pullman, Philip. The Golden Compass. New York: Random House, 1995. 399 pages.

The first installment in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass introduces us to the adventures in store for eleven year old Lyra Belacqua. Lyra is an orphan under the care of the scholars of Jordan College in Oxford, England, but one quite different from our world. The people in Lyra’s world all possess daemons, animals that embody a certain part of the nature their human companion. Lyra lives a carefree and happy life playing on the streets of Oxford with the town’s children, and only has one living relative, Uncle Asriel, a man of great power and influence, but who is constantly away on explorations to solve important questions that Lyra doesn’t quite understand yet. At the beginning of the novel, we are immediately introduced to Lyra’s precocious nature as we find Lyra hiding in a cupboard in the office of the Master of Jordan College where she overhears a plot to poison Uncle Asriel. Lyra is able to intercede and prevent the death of her uncle, but a mysterious series of events follows. We follow Lyra’s adventures as she tries to sift through the layers of deception of the church, the pervading fear of The Gobblers, and the mysteries of the alethiometer.

This book brings readers on a journey that is so compelling that they will eagerly keep turning pages to find the answers to their questions, but even the end brings up only more questions. I’ve heard many times that this book and this series have been on lists of banned books, very likely because of the negative portrayal of the church. For me, it’s a little difficult to designate a specific age group for this novel. Lyra is 11 at the beginning of the novel, and this may be a misconception left over from believing some other myths about reading, but I’m hesitant to believe that Pullman really intended this book for teenagers, especially older teenagers like 16 or 17 year olds because the main character is only 11. An 11 year old character simply markets as being an accessible book for younger adolescents. But as I was reading I found that the language style is really quite sophisticated, and readers really need to be on point and aware while they are reading. At times even I felt a little confused, but I think that’s part of the draw of the book—it keeps you wondering, thinking, and postulating until the end, and even after.

In addition to the higher complexity of language, this story is essentially a coming-of-age tale and the battle between being a carefree child to a person of immense power. It also portrays grown ups in a less-than-perfect, at many times negative way (another reason why it may be banned for some), and Lyra and the readers come to the realization that grown ups are clearly not infallible. Some of the questions I thought of while reading included: How does destiny play a role in someone’s life? What makes someone special? What would life be for us if each person possessed a daemon like in Lyra’s world? All in all, I completely understood why this has come to be such a popular book for children and young adults. An attention-grabbing introduction to a trilogy, The Golden Compass paints a beautifully troubled world, and definitely one in which readers will definitely want to get lost.

Book Review: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Jones, Diana Wynne. Howl's Moving Castle. New York: HarperCollins, 1986. 336 pages.

Now one of my favorite books, Howl's Moving Castle was given to me by a very good friend while we were in high school. At first I was skeptical, how could a fantasy book be so compelling post Harry Potter? Well since it was a gift, I decided to give it a chance, and I loved it. The story was light, but empowering as it regaled the tale of Sophie Hatter. Growing up in the land of Ingary, Sophie believed that she was never destined for greatness because she was the oldest of three sisters. Sophie wasn't the most beautiful like middle sister Lettie, nor was she given good fortune like her youngest sister Martha. Sophie didn't even have an evil stepmother to brag about since Fannie her stepmother was perfectly cordial. When Mr. Hatter died, Fannie even made arrangements for each of the daughters to be taken care of in some way--Martha became the apprentice of a witch, Lettie began work in a bakery, and Sophie stayed in the shop to learn the hat trade and eventually inherit the shop.

Sophie soon becomes bored with the routine and loneliness the accompanied working in the back rooms of the shop. Her life was looking bleaker and bleaker until one day Sophie's life is turned upside down when she gets on the bad side of the wicked Witch of the Waste, who subsequently places Sophie under a spell that ages her about 60 years. Needless to say being cursed wasn't exactly what Sophie was looking for, but it became her excuse to leave home and seek out the help of the Wizard Howl. As an old lady, Sophie finds it easier to speak her mind and not care so much about what other people think--and so she cons her way into staying at Howl's home (a moving castle with a magical door that opens to multiple portals) under the guise of being the hired cleaning lady. The novel chronicles Sophie, the Wizard Howl, his apprentice Michael, and the fire demon Calcifer and their adventures as a dysfunctional magical family. Will any of them ever break free from their mysterious curses?

Jones writes in such a way that transplants the reader to a different land that the reader will never want to leave. Filled with action, magic and complexity, readers will find something to love about the larger-than-life characters, with personalities so varied and vibrant that readers won't know what to expect next. Something fun to do would be to read the book before watching the movie, and readers will have a great time picking out differences and analyzing why the directors chose to change certain details. This book would be enjoyed by both girls and boys, and I would imagine anyone from ages 10-17 would be able to enjoy it, especially those who enjoy books with magic such as The Golden Compass .