Tag Archives: Young Adult

What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney

American Literature April 12, 2007 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A young woman still dealing with the knowledge that she was kidnapped as a child discovers an upsetting truth about the woman who stole her. Review: What Janie Found is the fourth book in a series about Janie Johnson, which began with YA classic The Face on the Milk Carton. Imagine while eating your cafeteria lunch you see your own face on the side of a milk carton as a missing child–that’s Janie’s story. It’s a powerful book (and was made into a fabulous…

The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

American Literature April 7, 2007 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: New step-sister Amanda wants to teach David and his younger siblings all about practicing magic, but when they learn that their house was once haunted by a poltergeist, no one can tell what’s made up and what’s real. Review: The Headless Cupid is the second of the three YA books I’m reading for the Banned Books Challenge. I was only familiar with Snyder’s The Egypt Game, which I remember as being cryptically creepy, the perfect read for a curious fourth-grader like myself.

Winterwood by Patrick McCabe

Irish Literature April 6, 2007 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Synopsis: Entranced by the folk tales of an old mountain man, and repulsed by the same man’s grisly crimes, Redmond Hatch struggles to narrate the events which led him to bring his beloved wife and daughter to winterwood. Review: I was upset by the way Winterwood seduced me. I did not want to be reeled in by Redmond and his elliptical storytelling because I knew that, between the lines, he was telling me stories I didn’t want him to be able to tell. I wanted…

I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier

American Literature February 20, 2007 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: A teenage boy reconstructs the moment he discovered a secret about his past that might prove deadly. Review: Cormier is best known for The Chocolate War (Laurel Leaf Books), a grimly compelling fable about the perils of conformity. I Am the Cheese (Laurel-Leaf Library) has the same air of mystery about it, but it’s a less successful work in my opinion. I read it a bunch of times as a kid, and revisiting it didn’t reveal any new layers.

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

British Literature February 17, 2007 Superfast Reader

Review: The second in trilogy begun in His Majesty’s Dragon finds Temeraire and Laurence traveling by sea to China where Temeraire will take his rightful place as the dragon of an emperor–not a member of His Royal Majesty’s Navy battling against an ever-encroaching Napoleon. Review: Throne of Jade is a more than worthy installment in the tale of Temeraire, a dragon hatched from an egg given by China to Napoleon but seized by the English. When Temeraire hatched, the first person he saw was naval…

Annie’s Baby: The Diary of Anonymous

American Literature December 31, 2006 Superfast Reader

Synopsis: Go Ask Alice, only with teen pregnancy.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Australian Literature December 17, 2006 Superfast Reader 1 Comment

Synopsis: Sorcha and her six brothers have always protected each other and their home in the heart of Ireland, but when the men come under a deadly enchantment, Sorcha must complete a grueling task and endure mute exile across the sea in Britain with the hated enemies of her kin. Review: Daughter of the Forest is a retelling of a fairy tale made famous by Hans Christian Anderson. Sorcha’s six brothers have been turned into swans, and Sorcha commanded by the Lady of the Forest…

The Taker by JM Steele

American Literature December 12, 2006 Superfast Reader 6 Comments

Synopsis: A super-stressed high school senior bombs on the SAT, blowing her chances for Harvard–until she gets a text message from someone calling himself “The Taker” and promising to get her within 150 points of perfect. Review: High concept premise that fails in the execution for a lack of emotional honesty insight. Perhaps fans of the Gossip Girls series will find The Taker meaningful, but when compared to something like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Catalyst, also about a stressed senior, it’s only as deep as a…

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

American Literature November 29, 2006 Superfast Reader 4 Comments

Synopsis: A young mage-in-training with unprecedented powers performs a forbidden spell and looses a shadow from another realm that intends to destroy him. Review: The writing in A Wizard of Earthsea is beautiful, and the world is wholly original. However, this books gets a little too fantasy-ey for me. It’s got a lot of Magic, and not that that much adventure. It’s much more about the ideas than it is about character development–which is fine. It’s just not what I prefer.

Listening to Reading

On Reading November 14, 2006 Superfast Reader 2 Comments

Tonight I had a work read. I am really enjoying the book I’m reading for pleasure right now, and can’t wait to blog about it. Hopefully later this week. So this is an On Reading post–for more on what that means, visit my about page. I used to love “record books” when I was a kid. James Mason reading Journey to the Center of the Earth had me dreaming of Iceland, and I nearly wore out an LP of Jean Craighead George’s Julie of the…

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