Tag Archives: Humor

Review: Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney Taylor

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Definitions of Indefinable Things by Whitney TaylorThe Definition of Indefinable Things
Whitney Taylor
HMH Books for Young Readers
Published April 4, 2017

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About The Definition of Indefinable Things
This heartbreaking, humorous novel is about three teens whose lives intersect in ways they never expected.

Reggie Mason is all too familiar with “the Three Stages of Depression.” She believes she’s unlocked the secret to keeping herself safe: Nobody can hurt you if you never let them in.

Reggie encounters an unexpected challenge to her misanthropy: a Twizzler-chomping, indie film-making narcissist named Snake. Snake’s presence, while reassuring, is not exactly stable—especially since his ex-girlfriend is seven months pregnant. As Reggie falls for Snake, she must decide whether it’s time to rewrite the rules that have defined her.

My Review
Reggie’s a prickly girl, so it took me a little bit to warm up to her. I tend to struggle with those kinds of narrators because I find the sort of determined negativity exhausting. What won me over with Reggie was the hints at her underlying sadness and the quirky, fun banter between her and Snake.

Snake totally seemed like the kind of character author Matthew Quick would come up with, and I really couldn’t help liking him, even though clearly he was working through some big issues and not always making the best choices. I liked that he wanted to do right by his and Carla’s baby, even when he wasn’t sure what that meant for his relationship with Carla.

The story sort of meandered in some places, lingering long on the mystery of what triggered Reggie’s depression, and her fears about a potential relationship with Snake. I loved the moment when she’s able to reach out to him using her own experience with depression. I liked that their relationship never came easily, but that they had to find their own ways to trust and be open with each other.

Books where Christianity or devout Christians are disparaged or portrayed in a negative light tend to be difficult for me as well, not because I think it can’t happen that way, but because I feel like too often that’s the narrative. I can’t help sometimes feeling like we allow a lot more latitude for negative portrayal of Christianity in modern young adult literature than we do other faiths or worldviews, but that’s a whole separate soap box. For Definitions of Indefinable Things, I think while Reggie was pretty tough on her mom and her beliefs, eventually they began to see value in each other’s perspectives and to find ways to express their love for each other without compromising what they believed, which felt real and honorable.

If you liked Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick or The Paradox of Vertical Flight by Emil Ostrovski, you should check out Definitions of Indefinable Things.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Reggie describes Snake as having olive skin and dark, curly hair. He has two moms, one of whom has brown skin. Other characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used moderately frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. References to sex. One character is pregnant.

Spiritual Content
Reggie’s mom is a devoted Christian and hopes prayer will heal Reggie’s depression. Reggie internalizes this as pressure to change. Like she’s supposed to magically become the person her mom wants her to be. Reggie herself prays in a couple of desperate situations, but otherwise doesn’t embrace any spirituality. She often disparages her mom’s beliefs.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Snake confesses that he slept with a girl at a party where both had been drinking alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

Review: What Goes Up by Katie Kennedy

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

What Goes Up
Katie Kennedy
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published July 18, 2017

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About What Goes Up
Rosa and Eddie are among hundreds of teens applying to NASA’s mysterious Multi-World Agency. After rounds of crazy-competitive testing they are appointed to Team 3, along with an alternate, just in case Eddie screws up (as everyone expects he will). What they don’t expect is that aliens will arrive from another dimension, and look just like us. And no one could even imagine that Team 3 would be the only hope of saving our world from their Earth-destroying plans. The teens steal the spacecraft (it would be great if they knew how to fly it) and head to Earth2, where the aliens’ world and people are just like ours. With a few notable exceptions.

There, the teens will find more than their alternate selves: they’ll face existential questions and high-stakes adventure, with comedy that’s out of this world.

My Review
I definitely enjoyed the constant jokes and comedy between the characters. It created this deep sense of camaraderie in the group and kept the story from getting too bogged down by all of the scientific details. I liked the juxtaposition of the serious crisis and the comedic moments.

The point-of-view alternates between Eddie and Rosa, who at first don’t have great impressions of each other. It’s not long before they come to respect, admire and come to need each other. I liked the chemistry between Rosa, Eddie, and Trevor. They made a great team and balanced each other well.

What Goes Up was a quick read for me. Every time I sat down to read just a few pages, I’d fly through chapter after chapter, always wondering what the teams would face next. There’s enough science to keep sci-fi fans flipping pages and enough great dialogue to keep fans of more character-driven stories well-satisfied. Totally a fun summer read.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Rosa is Asian and Trevor is black. At one point Trevor wonders whether his alternate self is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Romance/Sexual Content
At one point Rosa needs help getting to town for supplies to manage her period. She’s embarrassed, but doesn’t give any real details about her situation. Brief kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A group of boys try to throw Rosa down the stairs. Eddie is nearly injured when a bomb goes off. A couple of skirmishes between Eddie’s team and alternate Earth guys bent on destroying Earth. Nothing graphically violent.

Drug Content
Eddie gets very drunk after a conflict with a family member and the leadership of the program he’s in.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Review: Murder, Magic, and What We Wore by Kelly Jones

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Murder, Magic, and What We Wore
Kelly Jones
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publishes September 19, 2017

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About Murder, Magic, and What We Wore

The year is 1818, the city is London, and 16-year-old Annis Whitworth has just learned that her father is dead and all his money is missing. And so, of course, she decides to become a spy.

Annis always suspected that her father was himself a spy, and following in his footsteps to unmask his killer makes perfect sense. Alas, it does not make sense to England’s current spymasters—not even when Annis reveals that she has the rare magical ability to sew glamours: garments that can disguise the wearer completely.

Well, if the spies are too pigheaded to take on a young woman of quality, then Annis will take them on. And so she crafts a new double life for herself. Miss Annis Whitworth will appear to live a quiet life in a country cottage with her aunt, and Annis-in-disguise as Madame Martine, glamour artist, will open a magical dressmaking shop. That way she can earn a living, maintain her social standing, and, in her spare time, follow the coded clues her father left behind and unmask his killer.

It can’t be any harder than navigating the London social season, can it?

My Review

This was a fantastic light-hearted read. Rollicking and reckless, it kept up its tongue-in-cheek humor while still keeping me intrigued as Miss Annis attempted to puzzle out her father’s mysterious death. The plot was slightly predictable, but the wild humor kept everything fresh enough to hold my amusement.

This book did stretch my suspension of disbelief until it began to fray like a thread. However, I think that was intensional. The story is intended to entertain, rather than immerse, and for that purpose it works beautifully.

I loved the magic system in this book. It fit so perfectly with the historical period in which the story was set. Also, I liked how there were dashes of history thrown into the midst of the suspense, as it helped to ground the story a little more (and keep that thread of disbelief from snapping entirely).

Murder, Magic, and What We Wore is comparable to the Glamourist Histories by Mary Robinette Kowal while being easier to read (and cleaner) for the younger generation. Fans of Cindy Antsey’s books will also fall in love with this comedy of manners. Overall, I’m rating this book 5 out of 5 stars. I hope that the author decides to make this book into a series, as I’m very curious to see what Annis and her friends do next!

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Cultural Elements
Most of the characters in this book are English. One minor character is described as being either West Indian or African. Some antagonism (characteristic of the time period) toward those of French descent are shown.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
One character is insinuated to have attempted to rape several maids. He attacks Annis at one point, and it is assumed that he has less-than-honorable intentions. One proposal of marriage. One remark that it is not considered good form to allow a young gentlemen’s lips to approach a young lady’s.

Spiritual Content
A few characters dress as characters from Greek mythology for a masquerade.

Violent Content
A few suspicious deaths (off page). A few attacks, including one insinuated to be an attempted rape. Some injuries. Nothing graphic.

Drug Content
Characters drink and serve alcoholic drinks as a matter of course. One character comments on a memory of a lady getting drunk and behaving in a silly manner. More alcohol is added to the punch at the masquerade to insure that the guests forget the unusual events of the evening.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Denton Little’s Still Not Dead by Lance Rubin

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , ,

Denton Little’s Still Not Dead
Lance Rubin
Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published February 7, 2017

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Denton Little is supposed to be dead. Mandatory testing that accurately predicts date of death set his deathdate as the same day as his senior prom, only instead of dying, Denton broke out in a bizarre purple and red rash and, um, didn’t actually die. Turns out, Denton might be the key to ending the stranglehold the DIA (Death Intelligence Agency) has on everyone. A rebel group led by someone Denton thought he’d never see again seems to have answers he desperately wants, but they also have a poorly concealed agenda that Denton doesn’t trust. What he really wants is to find out why he lived and use that information to save his best friend Paolo, whose deathdate is less than a month away.

I heard of this series in Charleston at YALLFest last November when I went to an author panel and heard Lance Rubin speak. He’s pretty much hilarious, and I felt like, okay, if his book is half as funny as he is, I definitely want to read it. Truth? It’s more than half as funny. Denton’s voice is fantastic—feels like spending an afternoon with a goofy, awkward kid in all the most amazing ways. Also, I loved Paolo. I think you’d have to be actually dead not to like him. He’s kind of the unfettered heart of the story and the loyal best friend. I loved him.

I wished there wasn’t so much profanity and other content in the story because that’s a thing for me and because I know it’s a thing for some of the people who I think would otherwise totally love this book. I also kept forgetting that Denton was a high school senior and thinking he was younger—which I think is just me.

The friendship and humor made this book a super fun read. The suspense elements blended pretty well with the humor (does that seem weird? I guess it does, but I thought it worked.) and gave it a cross-genre feel that I liked. I definitely recommend this to readers looking for a laugh-out-loud book or a less serious dystopian tale. If you liked Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski but want something lighter, this is probably the right speed for you.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Denton’s best friend Paolo and his sister are Hispanic. (Did I mention I love Paolo?)

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently. Some crude language.

Romance/Sexual Content
Denton slept with his best friend’s sister before this book begins and mentions it without giving details other than that he was not sober and they both thought was about to die. He has a couple of sexual experiences described in moderate detail. One instance leaves behind some physical evidence that’s discussed a bit by Denton. There are several instances of boy/girl kissing and one boy/boy kissing.

Spiritual Content
At first Denton wonders if he really did die and is having a really strange experience in heaven (totally not the kind of heaven he was expecting).

Violent Content
Denton’s on the run from a governmental agency pretty determined to capture him and rumored to plan on torturing or killing him. Some brief chase scenes, bad guys with guns, that sort of thing.

Drug Content
Denton’s brother provides him with a fake ID that allows him to buy alcohol. Denton and his friends drink on more than one occasion. Paolo and Denton smoke pot. Paolo buys it from a kid at his school. It seems like maybe it began as a thing to do because they were going to die soon, so why not? But they do smoke more often than that.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

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Young Reader Review: Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Romance, , , ,

Once Upon a Marigold
Jean Ferris
HMH Books for Young Readers
Published October 1, 2002

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A Review by Anna, Age 8

A forest troll named Ed finds a young boy named Christian. Christian had run away from home. He did not want to go back. Ed says Christian can stay with him for one night, but Christian ends up staying in the cave with Ed and his two dogs, Bub and Cate until he grows up. One day while he was looking in his telescope, Christian saw a princess named Marigold. Christian wrote her a letter and sent it by pigeon. Marigold read the letter and p-mailed back. They became best friends. Ed was worried. Soon it was time for Christian to get a job. He got a job fixing things at the castle and had lots of adventures.

Marigold’s mom, Queen Olympia, was forcing her to get married. Marigold was upset. She did not want to get married. Christian was sad, too because he wanted to marry her, but she could only marry royalty. Christian would have to find a way to be with Marigold.

I loved everything in the story. Ed always gets idioms mixed up. It is hilarious. Bub and Cate and Marigold’s dogs (the three floor mops) are silly. Queen Mab is the Tooth Fairy. She always gets lost on her way to collect people’s teeth. That is funny, too. Queen Olympia orders everyone around. That was entertaining. It was also funny when Rollo the guard got mad because Meg kissed Christian. There is nothing about this book I do not like. It is the best book in the world!

A Review by Kasey Giard

Christian is a young inventor living in the forest with his foster father, a troll named Ed. Life is pretty sweet until the day Christian discovers the lonely Princess Marigold and decides to send her a message via carrier pigeon (p-mail). To Christian’s surprise, the princess replies to his message and the two become best friends. If only that were enough for Christian. As he comes of age and sets out to make his way in the world, Christian seeks work at the castle where Marigold lives, even though he knows he’ll never be able to have a relationship with her since he will be no more than a servant. Then Christian uncovers a vicious plot to kill Marigold, and he can’t sit by and do nothing. But how can a commoner do anything to save the princess?

Once Upon a Marigold is a spunky, cute fairytale story about having courage to do what’s right to protect the people important to you and the meaning of true friendship. Ferris cleverly weaves a whimsical world in which a forest troll wants to break the Tooth Fairy’s monopoly on collecting teeth, even though she constantly gets lost. Full of silliness and heart, this is a great story to share with middle readers.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
The princess is under a curse of uncertain origin: when someone touches her, she knows their thoughts. She and Christian briefly discuss their astrological signs, and the fact that they share the same sign is viewed as a confirmation of their relationship.

Violent Content
A flying machine crashes, causing some minor injuries. A character is struck with an arrow that must be removed. Nothing graphic.

Drug Content
None

About the Bloggers
Anna is a third grade student. She enjoys reading, riding her cousin’s scooter, playing with her cousins, and having adventures. She also enjoys riding bikes with her cousins. This is her first review.
Read about Kasey Giard here.

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Review: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , ,

The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1)
Maryrose Wood
HarperCollins
Published February 23, 2010 (Originally published 2009)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Fifteen-year-old Penelope Lumley has been summoned to her first interview for her first governess position. As a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females and armed with the pithy and wise sayings of the school’s founder, Agathe Swanburne, Penelope is ready for anything.

When she is greeted by the skittish household at Ashton Place, however, and confronted by the strange howling children who are scarcely clad, Penelope realizes it will take all her training, education, and her fond memories of books about wild ponies, to handle this task. She will not be deterred. Not by the children’s wild fervor over chasing squirrels. Not by the unusual names (Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia) bestowed on them by Lord Ashton himself. When Lady Constance plans an extravagant Christmas party that the children must attend, Penelope puts aside her plans for geography and mathematics in favor of table manners and appropriate dinner conversation. If only she can figure out what the Schottische is and prepare the children for it, she might have a chance at keeping her job with the children she has grown to love.

Not every governess is willing to take on three children who were raised by wolves. Literally. Now that they’ve been “rescued” from the forest by Lord Ashton, the children must be civilized and educated. Penelope sets herself to the task and achieves often hilarious and endearing results in this first book in a series which has been described as a mash-up of Lemony Snicket and Jane Eyre. The Mysterious Howling is brilliant and fun.

I read this book hoping to find a great audiobook to listen to on our family vacation. To my delight, I found it to be a wonderful story, one the entire family could enjoy. I found it impossible not to fall in love with Penelope and her three dear charges. The children make it appealing to a younger, more middle-grade audience, but because the tale is told from fifteen-year-old Penelope, it also appeals to teens. Those with challenging babysitting experiences may find it especially amusing.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violence
None.

Drug Content
When the children become the center of attention at the Christmas party, Lady Constance copes by drinking too much champagne and falling asleep at the table.

 

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