Like many of you, children, I am currently on vacation. I am happy to report that I’ve escaped the cold, gray that is New York and am in Florida. Guess what I am doing in Florida. Swimming, you say? Yes, I am swimming. Sunning, you say? Well, not really. I’m Irish, so forget that. Was that reading you guessed next? No? How foolish of you: of course I am reading.
Since I am always yakking about how much I loved Shiver and it’s main character, Grace Brisbane, I decided to try another Maggie Stiefvater title: Lament. It was awesome!
Speaking of being Irish, this one is full of Celtic overtones: harps, singing, depressing stories. It also focuses on fairies. Happily for the reader, however, these are not the benevolent sort of fairies who leave quarters under your pillow and frolic tra-la under mushrooms. Now that would be lame. No, these fairies prefer murder and mayhem to frolicking - which is how this story idea goes from lame to awesome.
While I do not love Deirdre Monaghan, Lament’s main character, as much as I love Grace, at least this time it’s not far off. Deirdre has all of the traits I like best in women, both real and imagined: she’s smart, she’s talented, she’s a hard worker. What’s not to like?
Unfortunately for Deirdre, she is a “cloverhand,” someone who can see fairies. That would be amazing if these were the kind of fairies that cleaned your room and did your homework for you. It might even be cool if they were the type to, say, take your younger sibling’s voice away when he/ she is being annoying. It is definitely not cool when the fairies, - oh, I don’t know - try to knock off your friends. It’s always so much more complicated when the fairies have homicidal tendencies.
Like I said, however, Deirdre is very intelligent and quite resourceful. You can rest assured that this is one cloverhand who can handle herself. She might even find true - if not somewhat supernatural - love along the way.
LAME FACTOR: Deadly fairies? Need you ask? A big zero for lameness.
YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR: The only way your parents will freak is if they’re those people who object to supernatural kinds of things - in which case you have my sympathy.
BRAIN POWER: Ooh. Big words. You’ll be fine.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Body Finder Book Trailer
Enjoy this trailer for The Body Finder - but don't be confused kiddies, it's book, not a movie. That means you will have to read.
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Grace Brisbane has ruined everything for me. If you read my review of Shiver (and if you didn’t, why not?) then you’ll remember that Grace is my favorite character of the year. Quiet, sensible, intelligent: what’s not to like?
I was excited then when it seemed like the heroine of The Body Finder, Violet Ambrose, was just like my beloved Grace. No so. But more on that later.
The Body Finder has an awesome premise: a teenaged girl, Violet, has the ability to sense dead bodies. The bodies seem to emit some sort of sound, like a high-pitched whine, that draws Violet to them. Usually, she just finds the kinds of things you’d expect to uncover in a walk through the woods, you know, dead squirrels and assorted mangled critters. As a little kid she developed the habit of digging up these animals and burying them in a makeshift graveyard in the garden behind her house. Then, one day, during a walk in the woods with her dad, Violet hears a louder than normal cry and as she moves closer to the sound she crouches down and begins digging. A moment later - you guessed it - Violet uncovers a real body, the body of a little girl.
Shoot forward several years; Violet is a relatively happy high schooler (are there any really happy high schoolers?) whose biggest problem is her lifelong best friend, Jay. It seems that, over the summer, Jay has grown from a goofy little kid into a seriously hot guy. This transformation is not lost on Violet and she is now torn between her new-found attraction to Jay and her overwhelming desire to preserve their friendship.
So who has time to find dead bodies? Happily, Violet clears her head long enough to hear their cries. While out on a lake with Jay, Violet hears the familiar call. She assumes it’s just an animal, but she is compelled to move closer and closer to the sound. A missing teenaged girl is dead in the water.
It’s the beginning of a very busy season for Violet: a serial killer is at work in the area around her home. The calls from the dead come in fast and furious. Happily for the police chief (who happens to be Violet’s uncle) killers appear to emit a sound of their own, and Violet is on their trail.
What’s not to love? Well, I did like The Body Finder - a lot. But I think I had big expectations for Violet. I wanted her to be as serious and smart as Grace, and instead, I found myself annoyed at the completely empty interactions she has with her friends. But then I guess that’s why I don’t want to teach high school.
Overall, The Body Finder was based on a very interesting idea and Violet wasn’t completely repulsive. Grab yourself a copy and see what you think.
LAME FACTOR: I need to give it a 1 out of 5. Come on, kiddies. School is for making something out of yourself, not for making out.
YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR: If you have your parents conned into believing that they can trust you to close your bedroom door with a boy in there, don’t let them read this book.
BRAIN POWER: Eh.
I was excited then when it seemed like the heroine of The Body Finder, Violet Ambrose, was just like my beloved Grace. No so. But more on that later.
The Body Finder has an awesome premise: a teenaged girl, Violet, has the ability to sense dead bodies. The bodies seem to emit some sort of sound, like a high-pitched whine, that draws Violet to them. Usually, she just finds the kinds of things you’d expect to uncover in a walk through the woods, you know, dead squirrels and assorted mangled critters. As a little kid she developed the habit of digging up these animals and burying them in a makeshift graveyard in the garden behind her house. Then, one day, during a walk in the woods with her dad, Violet hears a louder than normal cry and as she moves closer to the sound she crouches down and begins digging. A moment later - you guessed it - Violet uncovers a real body, the body of a little girl.
Shoot forward several years; Violet is a relatively happy high schooler (are there any really happy high schoolers?) whose biggest problem is her lifelong best friend, Jay. It seems that, over the summer, Jay has grown from a goofy little kid into a seriously hot guy. This transformation is not lost on Violet and she is now torn between her new-found attraction to Jay and her overwhelming desire to preserve their friendship.
So who has time to find dead bodies? Happily, Violet clears her head long enough to hear their cries. While out on a lake with Jay, Violet hears the familiar call. She assumes it’s just an animal, but she is compelled to move closer and closer to the sound. A missing teenaged girl is dead in the water.
It’s the beginning of a very busy season for Violet: a serial killer is at work in the area around her home. The calls from the dead come in fast and furious. Happily for the police chief (who happens to be Violet’s uncle) killers appear to emit a sound of their own, and Violet is on their trail.
What’s not to love? Well, I did like The Body Finder - a lot. But I think I had big expectations for Violet. I wanted her to be as serious and smart as Grace, and instead, I found myself annoyed at the completely empty interactions she has with her friends. But then I guess that’s why I don’t want to teach high school.
Overall, The Body Finder was based on a very interesting idea and Violet wasn’t completely repulsive. Grab yourself a copy and see what you think.
LAME FACTOR: I need to give it a 1 out of 5. Come on, kiddies. School is for making something out of yourself, not for making out.
YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR: If you have your parents conned into believing that they can trust you to close your bedroom door with a boy in there, don’t let them read this book.
BRAIN POWER: Eh.
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