Jaemi's Reading
Reviews on this Page: Prep | Head Games | Blink | The Edge Chronicles | Crank | Trickster's Queen | Dry
Running with Scissors | Magical Thinking | Playing in Traffic

Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld
PrepBoarding school isn't something on which I've ever spent much thought. Much like our main character, Lee, I really only ever saw it in movies. But unlike Lee, I never decided it looked like a prestigious life I wanted to get myself into. But such is the idea as it strikes Lee Fiora, a teen from South Bend, Indiana, who decides she wants a better life. What she finds is a bit of a surprise that never ends.

The story takes us mostly through the past, covering her years at the prestigious Ault School, but now and again her older self will kick in with a tidbit from the present, to give us a fuller picture, or maybe just to let us know she's there.

I suppose the most striking thing about this book is the aspect of watching this girl's life go by as she does the same. Because never in her time at Ault does Lee Fiora truly engage. Not even when she thinks she has.

Head Games, Mariah Frdericks
Head GamesThis book was another quick read, although in terms of its title, for me it didn't entirely hold up.

Head Games is the story of a girl who prefers to spend her time in Virutal Reality, gaming. In the world of Role Playing games, you can be whoever you choose. Therein lies the appeal. But what happens when the world you've come to trust and know even more so than the one you live in, also suddenly becomes unstable? And then on top of that turns out to be much closer than you think? Here are the head games. Realities twisting and mixing.

By no means did I dislike this book. It was not as psychological as I was expecting it to be, but the story it told was still held its own merit. If you're looking for something quick and enjoyable, give this one a shot.

Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking, Malcom Gladwell
blinkThis is another book I picked up because its title intrigued me. Being someone who believes very much in intution and instinct, I wanted to see what someone who seemed to be studying such things had to say. As a result, some of the astounding results were not so astounding to me...but it was nice to know that people out there do study these things. It was also nice to know that all of us can be thrown off from our own natural intuition and instinct under the right (or perhaps wrong) circumstances.

While none of the findings or stories were entirely incredible to me, because my life is full of its own seeming impossibilities, I still truly enjoyed the findings and the stories and the backup for the notion that sometimes you can just know and there's nothing wrong with that.
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The Edge Chronicles, Paul Stewart
Beyond the DeepwoodsThe first book of this series, Beyond the Deepwoods, I picked up first for the title, and second for the picture of The Edge inside. So much for those rules about judging books....because this one was a great read.

Another fantasy, this story features a young boy named Twig who has always felt that he didn't belong precisely where he was. As it happens...he was right. In the first of many adventures, he "strays from the path" to find his way and true place. If you like a fast-paced read that it's hard to put down, this series is for you.
StromchaserStormchaser, the second book of the series, tells the tale of a great Sky Ship voyage as the screw, including young Twig, chases after a Great Storm in the hopes of bringing back the ever-sacred Stormphrax for the sacred city of Sanctaphrax.
Midnight Over SanctaphraxThe story continues, in Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, picking up right where we left off in the previous book, at the end of a chase gone awry. But not entirely.

Follow along as Twig is reunited with his father only to lose him again, then spends the rest of the journey stuggling to recall what it is he's supposed to be doing. knowing only that it's very important, whatever it is.
The Curse of the GloamglozerWhen I first picked up this book, I was completely lost, and turned back to the binding more than once to make sure this was indeed book 4. It was. And by the time I'd reached the end of The Curse of the Gloamglozer, I felt pretty silly for having been so lost, as it all becomes crystal clear. But after three books in succession that followed closely on each other's heels, for this to take such a turn and pick up nowhere near where the last had left off....it was a shock.

This is a story of earlier days. The tale of Twig's own father's youth, as it turns out. It's a very different sort of story, taking place in its entirety within the city of Sanctaphrax, and a very different read, but still a great book. And I'm eagerly awaiting the fifth installment, due out this summer.
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Crank, Ellen Hopkins
CrankCrank is a novel told in poems, and tells the story of a young girl's addiction to this very lethal drug. In her case, there is a road back, but in many, there are not. And while the tale is not entirely true, it is based in some fashion after the life of the author's daughter.

Trickster's Queen, Tamora Pierce
Trickster's QueenI became a fan of Tamora Pierce and the various Tortall series while I was working in Chester and my teens clamored for more Fantasy books. The Song of the Lioness Quartet may always be my favorite, as they were the first I read, but every series flew by in a fast pace of excitement. Trickster's Queen is the latest of the Tortall books, and tells the end of Aly's story.

Aly is the daughter of Alanna (the Lioness), and in her previous tale, Trickster's Choice, was captured and sold as a slave in a foreign country. She quickly became a confidante of the household, and thus part of that country's rebellion. When her father found her, she declined to go home. In Trickster's Queen, we return to see the rebellion enter high gear, and dangerous territory. Read the book to find out what happens!

Dry, Augusten Burroughs
dryDry is Augusten's second memoir, and tells the story, as the title and cover would suggest, of his battle to get sober, including overcoming the attempted sabotage of a co-worker. This may have been my favorite of the three books. As with the prior two, it does not disappoint.
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Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs
Running with Scissors After reading Magical Thinking, I knew I had to go back and get the rest of the picture. Not only that, I wanted to. This is someone who's writing I surely plan to follow, wherever it may roam.

Running with Scissors was Augusten's first memoir, and tells the tales of his childhood, his parents [or lack thereof], his being handed off to his mother's psychiatrist, who may have in fact been the craziest of them all. Again, as Fiction it would be unbelievable. Instead, you'll find yourself riveted to the page, wondering what can possibly happen next, and how can he be getting through it all so steadfastly.

This was a very good read, also full of the same wit and humor, for all that the tale it tells is stark.

Magical Thinking, Augusten Burroughs
Magical Thinking I picked this book up first for its title; let's say I needed a little magic. And while the magic may not be the kind of faeries or true love, a magic it still was.

In this book we learn of Augusten's life through brief glimpes. A memoir in short stories. As his third such book, it does not delve into the background deeply, but we get enough of a picture to know that the childhood which formed this man was less than normal and wholly unusual. Of course this made it perfect breeding grounds for any number of books, but you have to marvel at the outcome--this remarkable human being, alive, thriving and telling his tales.

From the thwarted Tang commercial incident, through to the relative steadiness of now, here's someone putting his life on the page and showing us he's just human. Only the very fact that this story ever got this far, to make to paper, suggests that while he is human, like the rest of us, he's something a little more than that too.

If wit and humor and sarcasm are things that appeal to you, this book is for you.

Playing in Traffic, Gail Giles
Playing in TrafficI've loved Gail Giles ever since I read Shattering Glass, which I knew would probably disturb most people, but was to me true to life. Playing in Traffic keeps with the realism, telling the story of a high school boy caught up in the web of a seemingly sweet, innocent and abused, but very troubled classmate. In time it turns out most of her tales are untrue, but there are so many variations it becomes hard to keep up. The suspense is high, and the ending will either fit right in or leave you gaping. If you like the edge-of-your-seat feeling, this book is worth your while.



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