Testing...Testing...Does this thing still work?

Yes, I'm blogging again! My New Year's Resolution was to read 400 books in 2012, so I'm trying to make myself as accountable. Posting books everywhere I can think of seems like a good way to do that.

So my second book of 2012. The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas. This is a lovely book, that takes on one of the seven original plots of the world, the death of a mother, but still makes the main character of seventeen year old Rose matter.

In her past, Rose was that teenage girl that you love to hate but still like. She was a varsity cheerleader and dated a football star. Also, she had a great family and friends, and was beautiful! Yep.  I was so far from that in high school it's not even funny.  Well, except for the great family and friends.  I had those.

But Rose's life changes at the very beginning of the book with the loss of her mother. All she has left is the survival kit of the title, containing an iPod, a photo of flowers, a heart necklace, a paper star, some crayons and a tiny kite. Rose takes those things and over the course of the book, charts a new course for herself, without her mother.

And maybe even without the football player.  Rose grows closer to Will, who is a taciturn boy who lost his dad several years back. They manage to start a friendship that heals both of them. I love the characterization of Rose and Will. They have such a hard time plotting a relationship-struggling with whether they're even friends at the beginning to whether they think they should become more.

I'm giving this one four stars out of five because I love the way Rose keeps trying to move on and live with her grief anyway that she can. And also because I love that Will and Rose's relationship unfolds naturally, and not without its problems.

Powerless by Matthew Cody

I'm a teensy bit of a dork. I admit it. I like to think about superheroes and what I'd do if I had powers. I have extremely strong opinons on who would win a three way fight between Superman, Spiderman and Batman (Batman, of course! He'd have kryptonite in his utility belt and Spiderman just isn't really a concern).

So when I saw Powerless I knew I had to pick it up. It's about a boy named Daniel who moves with his family to a very safe little town. Little do the townsfolk know that it's safe because there's a group of kids with superpowers in town. The powers have been passed down through the generations. The kids keep themselves in check through the following rules:

1. Use Your Powers to Help. Never Hurt.
2. The North Face and the Old Quarry Are Off Limits. Danger Waits for Us There.
3. It Ends at Thirteen.
4. Never, Ever Let Grown-Ups Know (pg.50-51)

But as you can see, there's one problem with this. The kids lose their powers and all memories of them at 13. Is this natural? Or is something or someone stealing their powers? This is what Daniel (a Sherlock Holmes aficianado) needs to find out.

There's danger, sadness and humor in this book. I quite enjoyed reading it and thinking about it. And I'm in luck! The haunting last scene clearly points to a sequel.

New Library! and "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

To begin with, I have a job! It's going to be really wonderful, I think. I met many of my coworkers today and everyone's really friendly and welcoming. It seems like it's a supportive environment for everyone, I'm going to learn tons and I think that I can really contribute. And Defy Death.

"If I Stay" is a book with a lovely cover. I've seen it in the bookstores a few times, but the inside of the book never intrigued me. It's very sparse, which is probably because it doesn't want to give away the plot but it goes too far with that. However, I've got to say that you should ignore your first instinct. It's a lovely cover and a well written and touching story.

Mia is a teenaged living a charmed life. Sure, there's been stress in her relationship with her boyfriend, Adam since his emo core band has started getting more popular. Another thing that adds stress is Mia's cello playing. In all likelihood, she's going to get into Juilliard. She even gets along with her parents, former punk rock types who married young and adore Mia and her 6 year old brother Teddy with every fiber of their body.

See what I mean? Charmed life! But that all changed when Mia's family gets into a car one snowy day to go visit some friends. There's a car crash and both of Mia's parents die, while Mia and Teddy are hurt very badly. Mia ends up having an out of body experience.

That's where the title comes in. Will Mia stay? Or will she keep going on to whatever comes next?

I've got to warn you. This book is heartwrenching. I sobbed while reading it, sitting on my futon, so engrossed that I didn't realize it was getting too dim to read until the book was a couple of inches from my face.

I would recommend this book to teens aged 14 and up. It may play with some old saws (Lurlene McDaniel, anyone?) but does so in a lyrical way. The characterization is also very strong, making Mia a likable character and all the supporting friends and family sound like people that the reader knows and likes.

"World War Z" by Max Brooks

"World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War"

After the zombie virus decimated humanity, our planet has gone through many changes. Tibet is the most populous country. Cuba is the center of finance and banking. Russia is back to being an oligarchy. And Max Brooks is traveling the world, interviewing people who survived all over the world, learning what the zombies or "Zach" or "Zed Heads" did to humanity.

The book touches on many different types of people from Chinese doctors to American real estate agents to Russian priests, all with a different voice and story of their own. Although there is no real action, the book does begin at the beginning with the interviews and takes the reader through all the (10 plus) years of turmoil and war. Indeed, in the book, it is still not over. People are still fighting and some countries, such as Iceland are still completely overrun by zombies. But there is hope.

Brooks brings a terrifying view of what could happen, if there were ever zombies, all over the world. Indeed, it made me think out my very own zombie plan (get myself a sharpened hoe and head north to a friend's ski vacation house). It also made me think about sleeping with the lights on. It's so matter of fact that it just makes it that much more of a scary book, although it is not a traditional horror book. It's a scary book for those people who don't like Stephen King or other more typical horror books.

It's usually marketed as an adult book, however, I think that many teenagers would enjoy it. I would give it to teens 15 and up who are interested in documentaries and nonfiction but are looking for something maybe a little more "fun."

"Killer Pizza" by Greg Taylor

Toby McGill doesn't ask for much. He'd like to get a summer job. After all, he's 14, he doesn't have many friends and he's very bored. However, Toby has plans of becoming a celebrity chef, so he just needs some practice. Enter Killer Pizza. It's the only place to hire Toby, where he works with Annabel (a beautiful, smart and rich classmate) and Strobe (an angry older boy).

However, all is not as it seems at Killer Pizza. Instead of a pizza place with a monster theme, it's actually a front for a monster hunting organization and the leader, Harvey, wants Toby and his coworkers to be the start of the team in their area. The book involves guttatas (humans turned nasty beasts), humor and slowly growing friendships, along with danger and suspense. Toby is a likable main character and Strobe and Annabel seem like realistic coworkers and eventually, friends.

It's well written, however, sometimes it seems a little superficial. When reading about the author you learn that Taylor is also a screenwriter and that explains a lot, in that you can tell that sometimes the action is slightly more important than character development. The book reads like an action packed humorous horror movie and that's not a bad thing. I'd give it a solid B or even a B+ for some kids. I'd probably recommend it for kids 13 and up.

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden, a teen who has just graduated from high school, loves to study. Really, I mean it. She always knows where she is with her books and classwork. This is unlike everything else in the world, like a social life and her family, especially after her parents divorced. She lives with her mother, a very serious professor who makes sure that Auden stays focused and driven as well.

However, her father and new, young stepmother live in a beach town with their new daughter, Thisbe. In a moment of almost panic, Auden leaves to spend the summer with them, where she attempts to find the childhood that she never had. She meets her first real girlfriends and a very intriguing boy. Will this lead to a new life for Auden? Or will she stay where she's safe?

This is another winner from Dessen. Although the bare bones of the plot sound like many of the other teen romances out there, the quality of the writing and the characterization sets it above the rest. Auden is, like most of Dessen's other heroines, for lack of another word, real. She seems like someone you would actually meet out in the world. This goes for the rest of the cast as well. Every character is well thought out. For example, Auden's parents aren't the most sympathetic characters, however, you want to love them because Auden wants to love them. Auden's new friends aren't just one note either. They all have backstories and traditions together.

Another very well done part of the book is the romance between Auden and Eli, who has problems of his own. They learn to know each other at night, as they are both insomniacs, while the rest of the world sleeps. One of the problems for me with many YA romances is that I can't understand why the characters are together. That is not true in this book. Dessen manages to write a very real chemistry between the two. And the problems that they have seem very understandable as well.

There are some minor problems in this book, however, I believe that it deserves an A. I would definitely recommend this to 14+ who are looking for something with great characters and solid plotting.

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go by Dale E. Basye

Milton and Marlo are brother and sister and total opposites. Marlo is a bad girl (even though she's only 13) and her younger brother Milton is...not. Actually, he seems kind of boring. There is a bit of a marshmallow malfunction and they both die and end up in Heck. It's a horrible, horrible place and they, obviously, do not like it there.

All right, so when I picked this book up I was super excited about it. The illustrations on the front are amazing and the title makes me very happy. I started reading it and enjoyed Basye's language use and his humor. For example, the town where Milton and Marlo live is named Generica, Kansas. Perfect! The writing continues to be funny throughout the book. Once they get to Heck, some of the bad kids have been "Hooked on Phonics" and are trying to go through a drying out period. Milton's name and some other aspects in the book are obviously homages to other stories about hell (although I'm pretty sure that the intended age group probably wouldn't pick up on that).

Those are the good things. However, the components never meld with the plot. It's very light and kind of seems like it's mostly there to set up the sequel, as the plot just seems like a very long build up to the ending. I would also say that it's hard to feel invested with Milton and Marlo. They are fine characters but even though Basye tries to make them relatable, I never quite believed in them. Milton is too milquetoast-y. Marlo is more believable.

The book has so much potential but never quite delivers for me. If I had to grade it, I'd probably give it a low B. So to sum it up, there are some funny parts and good language use, but I was disappointed in the plotting and characterization. It also reads kind of like an introduction for a series (which makes sense, since there is at least a sequel).

The next book in the series is coming out in July and I'll pick it up. I have high expectations for it, since the characters are already introduced. Hopefully it lives up to all that I was looking for in this book. I would probably suggest this book to kids looking for funny fantasy type things, but with a list of others books as well. It's probably best for ages 8-12.