"My Name is Memory" by Ann Brashares

Although nothing less could be expected, Ann Brashares again delivers an imaginative and inspired novel about a love that truly withstands the test of time. Daniel has the ability to remember all of his previous lives and recognize the souls he met during them, including his soul mate, Sophia. This is both a gift and a curse, because for all the times he and Sophia have managed to connect throughout the centuries, they’ve also been wrenched apart by fate. Readers are transported through time as they follow these two souls and their journeys to find one another.

I especially appreciated how Brashares would intertwine both Daniel's and Sophia's past lives and the present day. It really kept the reader captivated and the plot flowing. I also have to grudgingly admit that as much as I was upset by the ending of the novel (don't worry, I won't spoil it), it was the best fit for the story. As a fan of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books I was very pleased with Brashares' latest novel and apparently so were other readers because it's featured as a June Indie Next List Pick!

Grace gives it four and a half out of five carrots!

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"Elliot Allagosh" by Simon Rich

Author Simon Rich is basically your prototypical author for an angsty, tongue-in-cheek book about high school. He's young, talented, and one of the snarky writers on Saturday Night Live. Naturally, Elliot Allagosh would resonate with anyone from a sixteen-year-old video game nerd to a reminiscing adult.

Seymour Herson opens his narration with a bleak glimpse into his life as an eighth grader at a NYC private school. He's chubby, a social outcast, and has recently been dubbed with the unflattering nickname "Chunk-Style." However, this somewhat cliched portrait of middle school angst is quickly interrupted by the arrival of the impossibly rich, incredibly eccentric (especially for a 13-year-old!) boy named Elliot Allagosh.

Elliot loves a challenge, and transforming the school pariah into the class president seems like a great way to pass his time. What ensues could have been a Cinderella-type story with a touch of after-school special, but Rich keeps the story funny and wonderfully fresh. My favorite parts were stories told by Elliot's father, who has never worked a day in his life and loves to find creative ways to use the billions of dollars in his bank account.

The story does, however, have a great deal of heart: Seymour learns the inevitable (popularity through lying, cheating, etc. does not guarantee happiness) and, during his senior year of high school, gets a much-needed waking up call. Elliot is a delightful con man, intriguingly neurotic and complex--you'll be reminded of a puppeteer crazed with boredom, tugging at the strings of his marionettes.

Beth gives it five out of five carrots!

Click here to buy this book at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop!

Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons

This is kind of a retroactive blog post, but with bullying in the news so much these days, this book has not left my mind. Odd Girl Out is a meticulously researched book, packed with interviews with real preteen and teenage girls. Oftentimes, parents don't realize the true extent of their daughters' struggles in school--girls can be especially adept at hiding that pain. This book focuses on the notion that, while boys take out their aggression in physical ways (i.e., a fight), girls fight a psychological battle that can last years. Girls can be shunned, teased, and publicly humiliated with horrible rumors. You'll be amazed at the cruelty Simmons has uncovered through her interviews. Simmons' dappling in social psychology manages to be informative while not overbearing, making this book accessible for all ages.

Simmons pairs this look into the world of bullying with realistic advice for both young girls and their parents. (Yes, despite what the quote on the cover says, dads can benefit from reading this too.) A book like this is especially crucial in this day and age, where constant texting, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter make "cyber bullying" a hot-button issue.

Beth gives it five out of five carrots!
Click here to order this book at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop.

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

I'm probably not the only one writing a bad review of this sad, sad excuse for a novel--after all, Bushnell has given her readers plenty of cause to hate this book. First of all, it is a young adult novel based on the life of fictional flirt Carrie Bradshaw, whom you may know from Sex and the City. In that way, this book serves as a sort of gateway into the television show, which is less than appropriate for a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl (young adult books are usually geared to ages 12-17).

Secondly, I have never--EVER--read a book with a character so devoid of life. The young Carrie in this book isn't witty or interesting--I'd rather read the story of her pet rock than read another droning page of boyfriend woes, complaining about friends, etc. Seventeen-year-olds are wonderfully over-dramatic and vivacious! Carrie Bradshaw is like a sad dead thing. What happened to the Carrie who playfully sports a tutu on the streets of New York? What happened to the word-playing, savvy writer who women all over the world wanted to emulate? Bushnell had a prime opportunity to write a sprightly coming of age novel, but her writing prowess fell short. Way short. The ingredients list on the back of Carrie Bradshaw's neon pink nail polish is far more interesting than this drivel.

The best thing about writing a bad review is that it allows you the opportunity to recommend BETTER books, and I have plenty:

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty is the journal of the loveable Jessica Darling, a hyper-observant, cynical, brainiac high school girl who makes even the most mundane of days humorous. The love story is also much more realistic to high school and much more enviable than Carrie Bradshaw's lackluster relationships.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison is one I've mentioned before, but it bears repeating: Georgia Nicholson's life will have you laughing out loud on every single page. That sounds like a cliche, but I promise you--it's so true.

What's your favorite young adult book? Feel free to comment, and further save people from the travesty of The Carrie Diaries!

Beth gives this book one out of five carrots.

Click here to buy The Carrie Diaries at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop!

"Mennonite in a Little Black Dress", by Rhoda Janzen

Not a regular memoir reader, I was apprehensive about picking this book up. But from the first paragraph, I was hooked. I absolutely adore this book. Rhoda Janzen masterfully combines a multitude of emotions into this perspective-packed window of her life -- a life she portrays with humor, intelligence and grace despite the misfortunes that lead her to return to and reflect on her Mennonite roots. It is remarkable how easy to be drawn into not only the book, but Janzen's likeable, laughable personality. A difficult book to put down and one you can refer back to again and again, you will most certainly find something you can relate to and take wisdom from. This book is perfect for individual reflection or reading group material!

“Poet Rhoda Janzen has an intriguingly honest and witty way with language, and a personality and unique story to match. This insightful memoir is simultaneously humorous and touching -- a rare combination you certainly don't want to miss.”—Kerry Hartwick, The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop, Indie Bound Newsletter Nov. 2009

Click here to buy Mennonite in a Little Black Dress at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop!

Kerry gives it five out of five carrots!

"Ella Minnow Pea" by Mark Dunn

Every now and then, there is a book written specifically and unequivocally for book lovers--for those who relish in language, who love the twists and turns that words can create. Ella Minnow Pea is the quintessential example of this. From its delightful title right down to its last page, you'll be awestruck and enamored with how Dunn masterfully plays with language. Ella Minnow Pea lives in the country of Nollop, a tiny island off of South Carolina that was the birthplace of the first pangram: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. The townspeople of Nollop revere this sentence more than anything and even have a sculpture in town honoring this sentence, which uses every letter of the alphabet. However, trouble strikes with the letters begin falling off the sculpture, and the tyrannical City Council declares that once a letter falls, it can no longer be used. It can't be spoken. It can't be written. Nothing--and the punishment for using a fallen grapheme is banishment. The story is told in letters between the townspeople, and as the novel progresses, the people of Nollop must use increasingly inventive language to avoid the forbidden letters. A crazy, linguistically brilliant completely original love letter to the English language, Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable is delightful beyond words. Read with a dictionary in hand!

Click here to buy Ella Minnow Pea at The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop!

Beth gives it five out of five carrots!

"Shades of Grey" by Jasper Fforde

For those who were enthralled by Lois Lowry's The Giver, Jasper Fforde has produced a new dystopia novel sure to get you thinking! This Indie Next List book from the author of Thursday Next kept me hooked to the very last page.
Welcome to Chromotacia, where society is ruled by a Colortocracy and you are what you can see. Eddie Russett has no real ambition to be anything other than a loyal drone of the Collective. His above-average red perception would allow him to marry well, inherit the string works, maybe even make prefect. Eddie's life looks colorful until he moves with his father to East Carmince. There, he falls for a Grey named Jane who reveals the painful truth about his seemingly perfect society. Curiosity grabs hold of Eddie, who begins to question the Collective. Black-and-white certainties are reduced to shades of grey as Eddie, along with Jane, begins to dig up answers. Dystopia junkies (myself included) will most definitely enjoy this thought-provoking novel to the very last page!
Keep on the lookout for the second book in this series coming in April 2010!

Grace gives this book five out of five carrots!

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