Tag Archives: teen

Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp

Posted on by
Reply

Well, Mallory and I have read another book – this time a story I remember reading (and loving) when I was about Mal’s age. I stumbled across Jane-Emily when I was ‘shopping’ at Book Closeouts and couldn’t resist. It’s a story about a little girl, Jane, who goes to visit her paternal grandmother after her parents are killed in a buggy accident. She’s accompanied by her 18 year old aunt, Louisa. Her grandmother is kind but stern. She’s had some tragedies in her life — the recent loss of Jane’s father, of course, but also the death of her beloved husband and young daughter, Emily. Emily appears to have some unfinished business at the house.

I remember this book as being really creepy, but let’s face it, that was 35 years ago. I wonder how it compares to some of the books Mal’s read. What did you think, Mallory, did you find Jane-Emily scary?

Mallory: No. Not at all. It wasn’t scary, but I loved the way the story took place in 1912. I love books that take place in the past. What about you?

Christie: Well, I have to agree with you, Mal. Not scary at all. In fact, I have to admit to finding the book a little slow-moving. It’s just a novella, only 140 pages, but it moved fairly slowly. I think I remember it as being slightly more action-packed. I did like how atmospheric it was, though. Do you know what I mean by that?

Mallory: Umm… I think you might be talking about the feeling each day brought as it passed in the book. If I’m right, then yes, I did. I liked the way each moment seemed a little care-free or relaxed. It is summer vacation, remember.

Christie: You’re close. Atmosphere is the way the story makes you feel…so, for example, Clapp took her time making you feel the heat of each summer day – when it was hot, you knew it was. Remember how they were always going to sit in the shade of the tulip tree? And when they went up into the attic, there was this sense of foreboding, like they might discover something awful and they did – remember?

Mallory: Yeah, I do remember what poor little Jane found. That wax doll with the melted face. Emily sure seemed like a nice little girl, right?

Christie: Well, I guess that’s the difference of 35 years. This isn’t a splashy book. There wasn’t any violence or anything graphic, but as  a ghost story I think it was okay. How does it compare with other creepy stories you’ve read?

Mallory: I think the romance in this book overshadowed any ‘creepy’ parts. As for a comparison- the book The Enchanted Attic by M.D Spenser forced me to read it only in daylight. Literally. And truthfully, (and I’ll only admit to doing this once) I read nearly all of Jane-Emily at night with a little reading light. I didn’t even shiver.

Christie: Busted.

Mallory: I’m going to deny anything you accuse me of. ;). I recommend Jane-Emily to  readers who can’t handle a huge scare,  and who prefer more ‘mild’ creepy books. But I must say, this novella paints a gorgeous picture of summertime in your head. And I think every ludic reader loves a book that does that!

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Posted on by
2

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff  has been on my tbr shelf for a few months. Coincidentally, a friend gave a copy of the book to my 12-year-old daughter, Mallory, for Christmas. We decided it would be cool to read the book at the same time and then share our thoughts about the novel here. This is actually something I’d like to do on a semi-regular basis because there are a lot of YA novels I’d like to read and Mallory is a voracious reader. In any case, we’ll start with this book and see how we make out.

I’ll start by letting Mallory tell you a little bit about herself:

Hi, everyone! I’m a grade seven student in French immersion. Besides reading, I enjoy drawing, dancing, (I study ballet and modern dance ten hours a week), and hanging out with my friends. I do love to read. Some of my favourite books are: Airborn, Skybreaker, A Little Princess, The Twilight Saga, Little Women, and The Little House on the Prairie books.

Christie: Thanks, Mal. So, I’m going to let Mallory tell everyone what How I Live Now is about.

Mallory:  Basically,  How I Live Now is about a teenage girl named Daisy who goes to England to live with her cousins after her father remarries. Once she’s there, two life-changing things happen: she falls in love with her cousin, Edmond, and war breaks out.

Christie: That’s it in a nutshell, Mallory. But this is a pretty remarkable book; it’s certainly not like anything that I’ve ever read before. What did you like about it?

Mallory: You know how when you read you can hear the author’s voice? Well, this book had the strongest voice of any I’ve ever read. Meg Rosoff created an incredible character, and when Daisy spoke she could make you believe anything.

Christie: I think Mal’s touched on the main reason this book is so wonderful. Daisy is a breathless, intelligent, self-deprecating, emotional fifteen-year-old girl whose personal world has been turned upside down….and then she has a catastrophic war to contend with.

When she arrives at the airport and meets her cousin, Edmond, she tells the reader “Now let me tell you what he looks like before I forget because it’s not exactly what you’d expect from your average fourteen-year-old what with the CIGARETTE and hair that looked like he cut it himself with a hatchet in the dead of night, but aside from that he’s exactly like some kind of mutt, you know the ones you see at the dog shelter who are kind of hopeful and sweet and put their nose straight into your hand when they meet you with a certain kind of dignity and you know from that second that you’re going to take him home? Well that’s him.” (3)

The whole story spins out of Daisy’s amazing brain and everything that happens to her is skewed by her needy intelligence.

Mallory: Her relationship with Edmond was really interesting to me. At first, I thought it was sort of freaky because I couldn’t imagine falling in love with my cousin. But after the war starts, and things get more complicated, I began to believe, like Daisy did, that they were meant to be together– related or not.

Christie: The war certainly made the story interesting. What did you think of the way we didn’t really know too much about who was fighting whom?

Mallory: When I was reading any bits where the war is described, my mind was never thinking of who was fighting or what they were fighting for. Mostly the whole time I was on edge with fear for Edmond and Daisy and whether they would make it through.

Christie: I was worried for them too, but I thought it was really interesting to see this war through Daisy’s eyes. Even though she didn’t really understand the hows and whys, she was able to articulate how people were affected by the fighting and the deaths she witnessed were horrific.

Mallory: I agree. Daisy seemed to be in the know and completely out of it at the exact same time — but it didn’t seem to matter. I was just wondering, what were your thoughts on Isaac and Osbert, who didn’t seem to play a big role in this story. And about Piper, who did.

Christie: We should tell people that Isaac is Edmond’s twin, Osbert is his sixteen-year-old brother and Piper, his nine-year-old sister. Their mother, Daisy’s Aunt Penn, goes off to Oslo very early in the book, leaving the children on their own. I think that’s one of the interesting aspects of this book — how these kids have to fend for themselves when the war is relatively distant and how all that changes when it suddenly shows up in their back yard. You’re right, though; Isaac and Osbert don’t really have a large part to play although Isaac does have an impact at the novel’s conclusion. Piper, on the other hand, is extremely important and I think gives Daisy a reason to go on. She’s a great character.

Who should read this book, Mal?

Mallory: Well, this book is suggested for 12 and up- but it’s a pretty intense read. It might not appeal to everybody, but if you’re a strong reader, and aren’t easily upset or offended, I recommend this book. Before I read How I Live Now, The Twilight Saga were my favourite books. I stayed faithful to them for a long time, and was almost positive that I’d never find a book (or series) that was better. How I Live Now was a pleasant surprise. It ended up overtaking Twilight by a longshot– and it’s now the reigning champ.

Christie: That warms my heart Mal because, as you know, not a fan of the sparkly vampires! Now we have to decide what we’re going to read next. Stay tuned!

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

Posted on by
Reply

I first read Ian Serraillier’s novel The Silver Sword when I was 12. All these years later I had vague memories of what the story was about, but  very vivid memories of having loved it. We read it in school and so it wasn’t a book that I’d actually come across elsewhere. One day, while perusing the selection at Book Closeouts I came across the book and decided to order it. I wondered, after all these years, if it would stand up. Some childhood books do and some don’t.

The Silver Sword is the story of Polish siblings Ruth, Edek and Bronia. When the Nazis invade Warsaw in 1940 their father, Joseph, and mother, Margrit, are taken away leaving the children, then aged 13, 11 and 3, to fend for themselves. We hear a little bit about the father who manages to escape a couple years later and make his way back to Warsaw. There he encounters a young ruffian named Jan. It’s part luck and part contrivance that the children should meet up with Jan and together they set off for Switzerland in search of their parents.

I am sad to say that The Silver Sword wasn’t a magical experience the second time around. The story is simplistic, the characters are one-dimensional and the happy-ending is unrealistic. That said, it in no way diminishes my memories of what I loved about the book 30-odd years ago. Then the trials of these children: their hunt for safe places to sleep, finding food, trying to stay out of the way of the Nazis, searching for their parents, was both thrilling and heart-wrenching. I can only attribute my disappointment to the fact that I am older and jaded.

I think my children will love it as much as I did then.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Posted on by
Reply

Oh, Stephenie.

You know, I really did like Twilight. At the very least I was willing to overlook the artistic license the author took with vampire conventions. And I was willing to forfeit my belief that the vampire myth is intrinsically connected to sexuality because there’s no sex in Meyer’s books. Given all that, Twilight at least moved along at a reasonable clip. The same can not be said about New Moon.

The central character of these books is Bella, a high school student living with her Police Chief father, Charlie. She turns 18 as the book begins and soon after her vampire boyfriend, he of the exquisite face, Edward, announces that he is leaving her. For her own good. Of course. Problem is, his reason for leaving is explained in a line which is lost in pages of pedestrian prose which I had to re-read several times to actually figure out why he decided he must depart.

They aren’t reunited until 500+ excruciating pages later…pages filled with, um, filler. Bella restarts her friendship with Jacob, a boy with a secret of his own. Her relationship with her father stretches and strains and Bella rebels by…learning to ride a motorcycle.

I wish I could say that the book (and the characters) redeems itself by the end, but it doesn’t. New Moon felt like a rushed (bloated) sequel to a popular book. It could have used a really good editor. And a story.

Seven Crows by John Vornholt

Posted on by
Reply

I picked it up at the little second-hand shop we visit almost every Saturday with the kids. I discovered fandom late and so I haven’t read more than a handful of these novelizations, probably because I discovered fanfiction first. Later, when I did try a couple of these sorts of books I found them to be lacking- fic was always better (and pornier!)

Seven Crows was okay, though. Vornholt’s plot about vampire smugglers on the US/Mexico border (set in an alternative season 7) was interesting. The writing was so much better than the Nancy Holder books I tried years ago. And best of all- the story features Riley and Sam Finn in need of some help and who better to call than Buffy and Angel, who haven’t seen each other in months and still have all these complicated and very real feelings for each other. For the B/A shipper- it was a great little book to kill a couple hours.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Posted on by
Reply

“Propelled by suspense and romance in equal parts, this story will keep readers madly flipping the pages of Meyer’s tantalizing debut.” – Publishers Weekly

I picked up Twilight by Stephenie Meyer despite the fact that it is geared for a teenage reader. How could I resist this?

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him- and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be- that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

This is the story of 17 year old Isabella (Bella) who moves to Forks, Washington to temporarily live with her father, Charlie, the local Chief of Police, while her mother goes off to Florida with her new husband. Bella hates Forks; her childhood memories of the place include the devastating end of her parents’ marriage.

At her new school she gets her first glimpse of the Cullens, their faces “so different, so similar… all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.” She is particularly taken by Edward Cullen, who turns up in her Biology class and also turns out to have taken an immediate and hostile dislike to her.

But Edward is hiding a dark secret. And, of course, Bella is drawn to him– moth to flame.

There are, of course, lots of vampire stories out there. But I have to say that I liked this one quite a lot, even though it was rather tame. (As it would be given that it was written for teens.)

Bella is a smart, likeable character and Edward is haunted and beautiful– perhaps too perfect. The prose is clear and straightforward and the story (all 498 pages of it) moves along at a good clip.

You begin these sorts of stories with a willingness to suspend disbelief anyway. And my view of vampires is coloured by my love of those in the Jossverse. Although Edward (and the vampire mythology employed here) is quite unlike any I’ve ever read about– he was a seductive character.

And apparently the book has legions of fans…there are lots of sites dedicated to Edward and Bella.