Summary:
Three sixteen- and seventeen-year-old boys are the kings of pranks, or "hacks" as they call them. They are all about making a statement by pointing out the flaws in the system. And when Max, the obnoxious troublemaker of the bunch, decides to make a bet behind Eric's and Schwartz's backs, they run with it, even though they think the idea of betting over something is abhorrent. The bet: Get the biggest slacker they can find accepted into Harvard. Along the way, they run into a few obstacles, like a pretty girl that might get hurt because of the bet, a guy that's blackmailing them into helping him too, and a bully who doesn't even remember his prey. The whole idea is that you don't have to be brilliant... You just need a plan.
Thoughts:
Just in time for those crazed about college application deadlines! The basic message of the book is a good one. You just need a plan. The way the boys go about getting their plan accomplished is rather unfortunate, though some bits were rather ingenious. The story in general is not a bad one. But it is certainly not one teens should read and think "Hey, this is totally okay." There's some romance in there, and there's some intrigue. But more than anything, it's a fun little coming-of-age story that was at least amusing enough to keep my attention. Though there were certainly plenty of times where I wanted to slap the boys upside their heads. Definitely an interesting story for teens, though maybe not until after they're out of the hunt for a college?
Book 52 of 70
Pages: 320
Genre: teen lit, some romance
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Recommend?: It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't fantastic. Read it if you've got the time and inclination...
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Charming the Prince (Teresa Medeiros)
Summary:
Set in fourteenth century England, Lord Bannor is a fierce warrior, one of the King's best fighters against France in the war, with a brood of children that could fill a modern-day American football team, with room to spare, who needs a wife to help him tame his wild children but who won't make him want to have any more. Willow is a young woman thrust into a very Cinderella-type situation when her father marries a wicked wretch of a woman who expects Willow to do the child-rearing at the tender age of six, who wants nothing more to get away from her vicious step-siblings and children altogether. Lord Bannor's second-in-command in war, who has become his steward during peace, is enlisted to find Bannor a wife. Hollis, the steward, sees a kind, fish-wife looking girl across a field and thinks he's found the perfect woman in Willow, until she drops the apples out of her skirts and shakes out her beautiful hair. But by then it's too late, and they've already struck a deal. Neither Bannor nor Willow is happy with the new situation, and they feud for weeks. Will Bannor ever get Willow to agree to stay his wife in happiness?
Thoughts:
The beginning few chapters stink. It's not engaging, or all that interesting. No one can say what they mean or discover what their purposes are with each other. But then the feud between Bannor (and his men) and Willow (and Bannor's children) begins, and it gets more interesting. Willow starts as a character that is so stuck in her meekness and civility that she can't tell her stepmother how wicked she is or her father what a disappointment he is, and winds up being able to speak her mind and fight for herself. Bannor starts as your classic warrior type, and grows to show his soft side, and learns how to love as he should. Not a horrible book by the end. At the least, it becomes more engaging. The first third of the novel is spent developing everyone, with very little action going on except blustering on Bannor's part, and wallowing on Willow's. The end winds up being worth some of the beginning, though definitely could have used a less cliched ending.
Book 51 of 70
Pages: 352
Genre: romance, historical fiction (of sorts?)
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Eh, if you like period pieces and want something easy to read, this is an okay one for you.
Set in fourteenth century England, Lord Bannor is a fierce warrior, one of the King's best fighters against France in the war, with a brood of children that could fill a modern-day American football team, with room to spare, who needs a wife to help him tame his wild children but who won't make him want to have any more. Willow is a young woman thrust into a very Cinderella-type situation when her father marries a wicked wretch of a woman who expects Willow to do the child-rearing at the tender age of six, who wants nothing more to get away from her vicious step-siblings and children altogether. Lord Bannor's second-in-command in war, who has become his steward during peace, is enlisted to find Bannor a wife. Hollis, the steward, sees a kind, fish-wife looking girl across a field and thinks he's found the perfect woman in Willow, until she drops the apples out of her skirts and shakes out her beautiful hair. But by then it's too late, and they've already struck a deal. Neither Bannor nor Willow is happy with the new situation, and they feud for weeks. Will Bannor ever get Willow to agree to stay his wife in happiness?
Thoughts:
The beginning few chapters stink. It's not engaging, or all that interesting. No one can say what they mean or discover what their purposes are with each other. But then the feud between Bannor (and his men) and Willow (and Bannor's children) begins, and it gets more interesting. Willow starts as a character that is so stuck in her meekness and civility that she can't tell her stepmother how wicked she is or her father what a disappointment he is, and winds up being able to speak her mind and fight for herself. Bannor starts as your classic warrior type, and grows to show his soft side, and learns how to love as he should. Not a horrible book by the end. At the least, it becomes more engaging. The first third of the novel is spent developing everyone, with very little action going on except blustering on Bannor's part, and wallowing on Willow's. The end winds up being worth some of the beginning, though definitely could have used a less cliched ending.
Book 51 of 70
Pages: 352
Genre: romance, historical fiction (of sorts?)
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Eh, if you like period pieces and want something easy to read, this is an okay one for you.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Stork Raving Mad (Donna Andrews)
Summary:
Meg Langslow is 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins. Her house is full of her husband's college drama students because the college is having issues with their on-campus furnace. Everyone is misplace from campus, and the whole town is housing the college kids wherever they can be put. One of Michael's students is nearing the end of his dissertation about a Spanish playwright, and is about to perform a show about his work and him. That is, until the dean of the English department tries to shut the play and the doctoral work down. The drama students and professors, all of whom officially fall under the English department, though they are fighting for their own department, all take umbrage at this and work to undermine the dean's decision. And then she's killed, and all the people that are swarming through Meg's house become murder suspects. Oh, and the babies could come any second.
Thoughts:
Honestly, the last time I read a Meg book ("Swan for the Money," posted in September) I was disappointed with the writing and didn't find it as engaging as it used to be. In fact, I said that if there wasn't something good in the next book, I wouldn't continue the series. This one turned it around, at least a little. Meg wasn't getting into the mystery as much, but just happened to be right-place-right-time for every bit of evidence. What's more, there were multiple murder attempts at the same time, which made it all the more interesting. And Meg's family, while usually all over everything and getting in the way more often than not, were actually useful throughout. Okay, Ms. Andrews, I'm game. We'll try this again. Let's see how you do once the babies are born.
Book 50 of 50 (Finished Sept 25th) With thirteen more weeks left in the year, let's try for 70 books to end the year!
Pages:289
Genre:Mystery
Grade:B
Would I Recommend?:Sure, though at this point, like most series, it's always good to read from the start. This series, though, seems to be one you can pick up in the middle.
Meg Langslow is 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins. Her house is full of her husband's college drama students because the college is having issues with their on-campus furnace. Everyone is misplace from campus, and the whole town is housing the college kids wherever they can be put. One of Michael's students is nearing the end of his dissertation about a Spanish playwright, and is about to perform a show about his work and him. That is, until the dean of the English department tries to shut the play and the doctoral work down. The drama students and professors, all of whom officially fall under the English department, though they are fighting for their own department, all take umbrage at this and work to undermine the dean's decision. And then she's killed, and all the people that are swarming through Meg's house become murder suspects. Oh, and the babies could come any second.
Thoughts:
Honestly, the last time I read a Meg book ("Swan for the Money," posted in September) I was disappointed with the writing and didn't find it as engaging as it used to be. In fact, I said that if there wasn't something good in the next book, I wouldn't continue the series. This one turned it around, at least a little. Meg wasn't getting into the mystery as much, but just happened to be right-place-right-time for every bit of evidence. What's more, there were multiple murder attempts at the same time, which made it all the more interesting. And Meg's family, while usually all over everything and getting in the way more often than not, were actually useful throughout. Okay, Ms. Andrews, I'm game. We'll try this again. Let's see how you do once the babies are born.
Book 50 of 50 (Finished Sept 25th) With thirteen more weeks left in the year, let's try for 70 books to end the year!
Pages:289
Genre:Mystery
Grade:B
Would I Recommend?:Sure, though at this point, like most series, it's always good to read from the start. This series, though, seems to be one you can pick up in the middle.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World (Sarah Vowell)
Summary:
A collection of short personal stories and musings covering a variety of topics. Many have a historical slant to them. She talks about her secret love affair with the Godfather, her trip with her twin sister that followed the Cherokee Indians' Trail of Tears, curiosities over mixed tapes, a trip through Hoboken to search for Sinatra sentimentality, and more.
Thoughts:
The previous book I read by Ms. Vowell, was held together by a couple of strings that were woven throughout the book, namely the presidential assassination angle, and also that she only wrote about the three that had Lincoln's son inadvertently involved. This book feels much more disjointed. Very few stories have anything to do with each other, and even the book itself is split into several different sections. These are literally just a few stories and essays that Vowell seems to have written in the past that she and the publisher strung together to fill a two-hundred page book. Sure, some of it is interesting, including her talk of the Trail of Tears, and the writing itself isn't bad. It just doesn't feel like the book gels at all. Whatsoever. It's a thorough disappointment compared to her other book. To be fair, though, this particular book was released five years prior to the other, and maybe her skill at bringing topics together had improved greatly over that time. Unfortunately, that skill was not in evidence here. I'm honestly disappointed. What's worse, it took me so long to trudge through this book, the forgettable beginning was completely lost on me by the end, and I had to go back and remind myself what the early topics in the book were.
Book 49 of 50
Pages: 219
Genre: Non-fiction, some history
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Eh. Assassination Vacation was far more interesting.
A collection of short personal stories and musings covering a variety of topics. Many have a historical slant to them. She talks about her secret love affair with the Godfather, her trip with her twin sister that followed the Cherokee Indians' Trail of Tears, curiosities over mixed tapes, a trip through Hoboken to search for Sinatra sentimentality, and more.
Thoughts:
The previous book I read by Ms. Vowell, was held together by a couple of strings that were woven throughout the book, namely the presidential assassination angle, and also that she only wrote about the three that had Lincoln's son inadvertently involved. This book feels much more disjointed. Very few stories have anything to do with each other, and even the book itself is split into several different sections. These are literally just a few stories and essays that Vowell seems to have written in the past that she and the publisher strung together to fill a two-hundred page book. Sure, some of it is interesting, including her talk of the Trail of Tears, and the writing itself isn't bad. It just doesn't feel like the book gels at all. Whatsoever. It's a thorough disappointment compared to her other book. To be fair, though, this particular book was released five years prior to the other, and maybe her skill at bringing topics together had improved greatly over that time. Unfortunately, that skill was not in evidence here. I'm honestly disappointed. What's worse, it took me so long to trudge through this book, the forgettable beginning was completely lost on me by the end, and I had to go back and remind myself what the early topics in the book were.
Book 49 of 50
Pages: 219
Genre: Non-fiction, some history
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Eh. Assassination Vacation was far more interesting.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Lean Mean Thirteen (Janet Evanovich)
Summary:
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter not-so-extraordinaire, is given one task. Plant a bug on her asshole ex-husband. But thanks to his asshole tendencies, Hurricane Stephanie whips through his office, leaving his shell-shocked staff in her homicidal wake. This isn't usually news, but Stephanie then has the misfortune of her ex going missing in the middle of the night, complete with gunshots and a blood trail. Guess who gets fingered for the crime. What's worse, her arch-nemesis Joyce, the woman that broke up her marriage in the first place, is not only sleeping with the jerk again, she won't leave Stephanie alone. With Morelli tied up with a case, Stephanie has to turn to Ranger for help in sorting out the whole mess, which could result in a wholly different kind of mess.
Thoughts:
This one was a good one. The whole way through the book, I was rooting for Stephanie and hoping she would be cleared of the murder. But knowing the characters as I do now, I was really not sorry to hear that the ex was in trouble and probably dead. Poor Steph, too, doesn't know what the hell to do about Ranger. She's hopelessly attracted to both him and Morelli, though Morelli's a much more stabilizing presence in her life, and she keeps getting thrown at Ranger, having to live in his space, being expected to share a bed with him, and having to fight the draw this man has for her. It's almost heartbreaking to see her struggle with this whole mess, but then she's really bringing a lot of it on herself with the work she does and the messes she allows herself to get into all the time. The twist near the end, too, is a fantastic one that makes total sense looking back on the clues, but sort of comes out of nowhere. I was honestly surprised by it, and while I won't say word one about what comes about, I will say it's absolutely worth checking this one out, just for the twist. Well done as always, Ms. E.
Book 48 of 50
Pages: 310
Genre: mystery with romantic undertones
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Definitely, though a lot of the anxiety and crazy of this one can only really be understood from reading the previous books. Not a good jumping-in point anymore.
Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter not-so-extraordinaire, is given one task. Plant a bug on her asshole ex-husband. But thanks to his asshole tendencies, Hurricane Stephanie whips through his office, leaving his shell-shocked staff in her homicidal wake. This isn't usually news, but Stephanie then has the misfortune of her ex going missing in the middle of the night, complete with gunshots and a blood trail. Guess who gets fingered for the crime. What's worse, her arch-nemesis Joyce, the woman that broke up her marriage in the first place, is not only sleeping with the jerk again, she won't leave Stephanie alone. With Morelli tied up with a case, Stephanie has to turn to Ranger for help in sorting out the whole mess, which could result in a wholly different kind of mess.
Thoughts:
This one was a good one. The whole way through the book, I was rooting for Stephanie and hoping she would be cleared of the murder. But knowing the characters as I do now, I was really not sorry to hear that the ex was in trouble and probably dead. Poor Steph, too, doesn't know what the hell to do about Ranger. She's hopelessly attracted to both him and Morelli, though Morelli's a much more stabilizing presence in her life, and she keeps getting thrown at Ranger, having to live in his space, being expected to share a bed with him, and having to fight the draw this man has for her. It's almost heartbreaking to see her struggle with this whole mess, but then she's really bringing a lot of it on herself with the work she does and the messes she allows herself to get into all the time. The twist near the end, too, is a fantastic one that makes total sense looking back on the clues, but sort of comes out of nowhere. I was honestly surprised by it, and while I won't say word one about what comes about, I will say it's absolutely worth checking this one out, just for the twist. Well done as always, Ms. E.
Book 48 of 50
Pages: 310
Genre: mystery with romantic undertones
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Definitely, though a lot of the anxiety and crazy of this one can only really be understood from reading the previous books. Not a good jumping-in point anymore.
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