The Madness Underneath

The Madness Underneath
Written by Maureen Johnson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 304
Publisher: Penguin Books

"Ahhhhh!" is the sound my mouth made more times than I would like to admit while reading this book.

The sequel to The Name of The Star was just....wow. So good. I mean the first one was good. But this one. Dang. Rory's adventures continue and deepen. I can't give too much of a plot summary for fear of spoilers, but I can say that Rory spends some time with her parents before coming back to school, and then stuff really starts happening, like more people die and more mysteries show up.

While the first book was more plot driven, the second is definitely more character driven. Rory has some real struggles with her friendships and relationships, and she's faced with some major life choices. Gah! I can't tell you about it or it will spoil it. It's just good, ok?

There's one part at the end that Maureen Johnson called The Thing. When I got to it, I yelled. Out loud. Then I fell on the floor. *plop* I was infuriated and distraught.

More great quotes:

"I like to talk. Talking is kind of my thing. If talking had been a sport option at Wexford, I would have been captain. But sports always have to involve running, jumping, or swinging your arms around. You don’t get PE points for the smooth and rapid movement of the jaw.” 

“Don't get stabbed. It makes everything awkward.” 

“I try to shake it loose-but these ideas, they cling. It's like I'm shackled to them with an iron chain. They rattle along behind me, dragging against the ground, always reminding me of their presence.” 

This is a great read if you need something short, funny, a little romantic, scary, intense, and awesome.

The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star
Written by Maureen Johnson
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Pages: 400
Publisher: Speak

I've long been a fan of Maureen Johnson. She's always got delightfully authentic and quirky characters, unpredictable plots, and plenty of funny one-liners. But this book may very well be my favorite of hers.

Maureen Johnson takes a step away from her girl-coming-of-age-in-an-awkward-and-funny-way books with this mystery novel set in London. Rory is a senior in high school from Georgia, and her parents take a sabbatical in England, so Rory goes along to attend a boarding school there. The day she arrives, a series of Jack the Ripper re-creation murders begin to happen not a mile from her school. Naturally, Rory gets caught up in the web of mystery.

This is perhaps one of the few books that's ever kept me awake at night. Maureen uses an age-old literary technique by taking the real and giving it just a little twist into the unreal. The story is so grounded in the present and the believable characters that I found myself believing the fantasy as well. The subtle blending between truth and fiction really brings this book above a standard thriller.

Maureen's characters also help this book stand out in a sea of mystery novels. The protagonist is typically American-in-London, but not annoyingly stereotyped. The supporting characters are vividly drawn, like the field hockey teacher who shakes hands like she's crushing a bunny, and the quiet roommate who plays the cello and loves Cheese Whiz. Instead of a brave, indestructible hero typical of mystery and thriller novels, Rory's just a typical person with a bit of spunk. These characters really invest the reader in the book, making it even more of a page-turner.

The book just wouldn't be Maureen Johnson without her great one-liners. (Also, if you don't follow the woman on Twitter, you're making a poor life choice. @maureenjohnson)

“Keep calm and carry on. 
Also, stay in and hide because the Ripper is coming.” 

“And if we get caught, I will claim I made you go. At gunpoint. I am American. People will assume I'm armed.”

“Welsh is an actual, currently used language and our next-door neighbors Angela and Gaenor spoke it. It sounds like Wizard.” 

“I looked at the stained-glass image of the lamb in the window above me, but that only reminded me that lambs are famous for being led to slaughter, or sometimes hanging out with lions in ill-advised relationships.”

“Fear can't hurt you. When it washes over you, give it no power. it's a snake with no venom.” 

See what I mean? It's fantastic all the way through. 

Before I Fall

Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Romance, Death, Time-Travel
Pages: 470
Publisher: HarperCollins

 Before I Fall follows Samantha Kingston's last day -- Well, her last day seven different ways. I've never been a huge fan of dying books, but this one painted it a little differently.

Samantha Kingston is killed in a car accident after a party. Before she completely leaves this world, she relives her last day seven times. Each time she makes different choices and learns a little more about the people she's leaving behind.

I enjoyed Oliver's ability to show people as the complex beings they are. Initially, the book starts with a very typical day of a popular high school girl. I was honestly really annoyed and didn't enjoy reliving the stereotypes of high school. But as the book progresses, it shows each character a little more complexly. Because the focus was on imagining people complexly, the book avoided becoming too didactic. Even though it does carry some heavy morals (Like, I don't know, don't drink and drive, don't have sex, don't put up with a crappy boyfriend, spend time with your family, be nice to people, to name just a few) it's not weighed down by them. The morals happen as a result of the storytelling, not the other way round.

Good read. Thought-provoking. Good characters.

Follow Lauren Oliver on Twitter @OliverBooks.

Divergent

Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Genre: Dystopia, Action, Romance
Pages: 576
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books

I'll be honest, I was a little excited to read Divergent. I saw it on the Top Ten List on Goodreads, and a friend liked it, so I figured it had to be good.

And it was. But about 10 minutes into reading, about chapter 5, I found myself on a roller coaster. The old, white roller coaster at Lagoon, to be exact.

Just like that old ride, this book took too long to pick up speed, was a replica of everything remotely similar, and ridiculously predictable.

The book is set in a Futuristic-Dystopian Chicago and is told by a 16 year old named Beatrice. She must choose to spend the rest of her life in one of five "factions," tribes that focus on a single trait (Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, Dauntless). Her unexpected choice sets larger political wheels in motion.

If you took the Hunger Games, gave it 4 instead of 12 districts, made the protagonist blonde and slim, made the Games slightly less gory, and removed the sickening love triangle, you'd have Divergent. Like Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth tells her story in present tense, which tends to whip the story past textual gaps at a breathtaking pace. For a style that quickly moves the reader into the text, I found myself on page 301 wondering when something was going to happen. Eventually the expected bloodbath gets underway, and the plot hurdles itself into a lofty cliffhanger.

"The [no spoilers] guards close the gate and lock it behind them. The lock is on the outside. I bite my lip. Why would they lock the gate from the outside and not the inside? It almost seems like they don't want to keep something out; they want to keep us in." - Page 128

Too bad this great little piece of premonition never actually gets used in the plot. I could probably handle the ragged textual gaps, since the plot is still engaging, if it wasn't for the romance. OK, I know it's YA lit and it has to have some romantic interest for the fantasizing 13 year olds, but really? Does it have to come in this kind of packaging and volume?

"I know exactly how much space is between us. Six inches. I lean. Less than six inches. I feel warmer, like he's giving off some kind of energy that I am only now close enough to feel. " - Page 240  

" 'Fine.' He leans his face closer to mine, his eyes focusing on my chin, my lips, my nose. 'I watched you because I like you.' He says it plainly, boldly, and his eyes flick up to mine." - Page 337 

While I know that neither of these quotes is necessarily disgusting, it's the frequency that does it to me. Dear Veronica, can we have at least some interaction between characters that's not charged with teenage lust? It wears me out. Sincerely, Kate

Divergent is clearly riding the tidal wave of YA dystopia/brave female protagonist/Byronic hero novels, but it's still entertaining. Like the old roller coaster, it's a bit disappointing, but perhaps there's a reason people still stand in line for it.

Next Post: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

We All Fall Down

We All Fall Down

Written by Robert Cormier

Published by Laural-Leaf Books in 1993

208 pages.

Genre: Suspense, Family.

Summery: Four teenage boys trash the Jerome's home one night. 14 yr old Karen comes home while they are there. She is assaulted and beaten in to a coma. The story is told from several characters, including Karen's sister Jane, one of the trashers, and a psychopath/schiztophrenic murderer who thinks he's 11.

Response: Wow, this book is freaky weird. It was a little hard to get into, but then I got sucked in and sort of enjoyed it, I guess. It's really intense.

Word of Caution: Graphic description of the trashing and beating, teenage drinking, language.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Written by Suzanne Collins

Published by Scholastic Press in 2008

384 pages.

Genre: Violence, Dystopia, Suspense.

Summery: North America is now a nation of 12 districts ruled by The Capital. Once, the districts rebelled against the dictatorship of the Capital. Every year since, the Hunger Games have happened to remind the districts who is in control. The names of two children between the ages of 12 and 18 are drawn from each district, one boy and one girl. Both will enter the Games. Out of 24 kids, only one will survive.

Response: I thought I wouldn't like it, but I loved it. It may be a new favorite. I thought it would be morbid and gross, but it was very clean and the author presented it very well. There was practically no swearing or sexual references. The plot was gripping, and the characters were round and well developed.

Word of Caution: It's very intense, and there's a lot of killing.

Stuck In Neutral

Stuck in Neutral

Written by Terry Trueman

Published by HarperTeen in 2001

128 pages.

Genre: Suspense, Family

Summery: Shawn is 14 and he was born with cerebral palsy. He has zero muscle control. He can't even voluntarily blink, focus his eyes, or swallow. But there's nothing wrong with his mind. He knows how to read and he has a perfect memory. He enjoys the world around him. He loves his family. Which is why he's worried when he finds out that his father might kill him.

Response: This is hands down the best book I have read this semester. It is incredible. It will literally change your life. I really connected to this book because I have worked as a therapist for handicapped children. I know how they are so much more than most people take them for. Every single person has a personality. They are people. Read this book.

Word of Caution: This book will have significant effect on your opinion of retarded people.

Foreign Exchange

Foreign Exchange

Written by Mel Glenn

Published by HarperTeen in 1999

144 pages.

Genre: Multicultural, Mystery/Suspense, Social Issues

Summery: For one weekend, students from a big-city highschool are staying with host families in a small, rural town. While staying there, one of the local girls (the prettiest, most popular) is murdered. Through the brilliant poems, we find out who killed her and how the people from both sides deal with the event.

Response: Loved it. So brilliantly written. I think that the poetry works better than regular prose would. It examines prejudices, stereotypes, rivalry, ethics, and family.

Word of Caution: Murder, obviously. Sex. Some language.

"The Taking of Room 114"

The Taking of Room 114
Written by Mel Glenn
Published by Dutton Juvenile in 1997
192 pages.

Genre: Poetry, Suspense

Summery: A crazy high school teacher takes his students hostage. It's remarkably gripping, considering that the entire book is a series of poems. There are five poems for each of the students telling of their lives as Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and finally on the day of the event. The poems do an incredible job of getting inside the heads of teens. Very spot on. The poetry is fun and easy to read.
Response: Oh my. So good. Funny and real, with excellent characters. This book shows that we use too many words when we write. He can create detailed characters with 5 relatively short poems. His writing is fascinating. The storyline is faint but compelling. I read it in less than an hour. This was one of my favorite books I've read so far.

Word of Caution: Mild language. (We're in the teens' heads, remember?) Teen pregnancy. Poetry Haters beware -you might like this book.