I’m not the biggest history buff in the world (not gonna lie, I rocked the heck out of AP Euro, but that was years ago, and didn’t, you know, cover the history of places that… weren’t Europe), but I deem this book pretty solidly executed. And what’s more, I enjoyed reading it/learning stuff about history/re-learning […]
I Love You, Beth Cooper is Larry Doyle’s first novel (he also wrote Go, Mutants!, the subject of my first review here at My Books). I Love You, Beth Cooper’s about a boy—Denis Cooverman, captain of the debate team and valedictorian of BGHS (Buffalo Grove High School), to be precise—and his ill-advised attempt to make […]
I picked up Joe Bruchac and Will Davis’s graphic novel Dawn Land because (I’m about to get real with you) the cover is frickin’ gorgeous. It’s sunset/sunrise hued watercolors (plus, it’s a graphic novel, so the cover can actually give you some hints about what’s inside/ don’tcallmeshallow/ I’mnotpremptivelydefensiveatall). I figure, it’s a library book—if the […]
The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers, is Laura Oliver’s practical guide to writing. It deals with the act of writing, the business of being a writer, and the social/psychological agitation of being a writer (or being one of those people who is afraid to call themselves a writer, but writes all the […]
Americus is a YA graphic novel by MK Reed and Jonathan Hill, and IT’S FRIGGIN’ WONDERFUL. It has book wars, humorous depictions of various authority figures, unpretentious but nuanced characters, simple but expressive artwork, and a heck of a lot of heart. I love the crap out of this book. I just used all caps—you […]
Futureproof is a messy, utterly debauched ride into a 90’s drug-ridden hell. And we’re not talking Baz-Luhrmann-Moulin–Rouge-opulent debauchery. This is grunge flavored—everything is dirty, scummy, gray, wearing ripped black tee shirts and dirty flannel, and sort of feels like a cop-less episode of SVU. In a word: gritty. It’s fast paced, witty, and conversational—the narrator […]
I’ll keep this short. I was not a fan of this book. Obviously, any book that’s going to be about surviving infidelity is probably not going to be a barrel of laughs. And that’s fine. But since we aren’t aiming for entertainment value, the book should attempt, at least, to be useful and informative. Liz […]
This is one of those books that I’ll be re-reading for a long time to come (this means I’m in love, folks). I might even get creepy and start memorizing some of the stories (I may or may not be infatuated). 420 Characters is a great collection of supershort stories (420 characters each—and that’s including […]