Book review - Material Girls

Title: Material Girls
Author: Elaine Dimopoulos
Genre: dystopian fiction
Similar books: Feed by M T Anderson
                     So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld
Rating:

pretty attention-grabbing

Summary: In Marla and Ivy's world teens are at the top of the heap. At age 12 a handful of kids get "tapped", selected for careers in the creative industries. Tapped teens design video games, become musicians, and decide what clothes will be produced. When Marla loses her position in a fashion label's court, relegated to drafting in the basement, and a new pop star threatens to take Ivy's place, both girls begin to question the system that they've always believed in whole-heartedly. A new "eco-chic" trend binds the girls together and might just have the power to tear their world apart.

My opinion: This turned out to be an excellent, thought provoking read. The base plot is not particularly ground breaking; for the first 3/4 it follows the same direction as most dystopian fiction, that of discovering and defying a system that one once believed in. The ending, though, makes it stand out from the crowd. Not only does Dimopoulos point out the flaws in the fashion industry and our image obsessed culture she also does not pave and easy road for her revolutionaries. While the fashion angle won't appeal to many readers, it's worth a read for those with an eye towards social justice and mindful consumption.

More information: Material Girls releases May 5th.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Books on screen

How I Live Now

When I started watching movie adaptations with an eye for differences I began to notice certain key signs that an adaptation would be disappointing. Things like drastic changes in character dynamics, which was the first thing I noticed about this movie. The book How I Live Now introduces us to Daisy, a displaced fifteen year old with an eating disorder and her cousins: typical 17 year old Osbert, 15 year old twins Edmund and Isaac (who seldom speaks but has a way with animals), and the pixie-like 8 year old Piper. The farm is an idyllic place and Daisy quickly becomes part of their lives. The movie removes Osbert entirely, makes Isaac younger, and introduces a neighbor named Joe who spends time with the children. Edmund takes on most of Isaac's personality traits, leaving the two younger kids much more average. They are annoying and insensitive. In the long run these changes might not typically matter but in this case they change the entire tone of the movie. The book takes this almost magical place with these mystical children and tears it apart with war. In spit of the changes, they go on living and find a new normal, hence the title. The movie is far darker, focusing instead on dangers and how their lives fall apart. Even that idyllic beginning is harshened with the farm a dump, Daisy angry and combative, and the neighbor boy abused. 
Taken on it's own, this isn't a bad movie. But for the viewer who is at all familiar with the book this adaptation with be disappointing more than anything else.

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?
Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone
Before the accident, Trevor knew what to expect from life. Football, parties, and music. One bad choice takes it all away from him and leaves him with a traumatic brain injury and scrambling to find a new "normal." When good girl Everly is assigned as his tutor, he thinks she's a stuck-up miss perfect. He can't know that Everly is struggling with a secret that has destroyed her own sense of normal.
 
What did you recently finish reading?
Undertow by Michael Buckley
Lyric Walker's life used to be predictable. Until the day that the Alpha arrived on Coney Island and the whole world changed. 30,000 ocean dwelling warriors now occupy the beach and a small group of Alpha teens are about to start attending Lyric's school and it's turning Coney Island into a powder keg. When Lyric is manipulated into helping the Alpha prince, Fathom, assimilate it might be the spark that sets things off. Some people want the Alpha gone - no matter the cost.

Undertow is similar to a lot of alien stories that you read. You have this entirely foreign culture suddenly thrust upon human society. Unsure of the intent of these strangers, novelty soon turns to fear and aggression. It points out the human tendency  towards discrimination, but follows a relatively predictable plot. Interesting but not what I'd consider a high priority read. 
What do you think you will read next?
The Worst Class Trip Every by Dave Barry
I loved Barry's Peter and the Starcatchers series and look forward to reading his take on a field trip misadventure.

Book review - Life Unaware

Title: Life Unaware
Author: Cole Gibsen
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Gone Too Far by Natalie Richards
                    The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre
Rating:

Nice, if a little unbelievable

Summary: Regan is used to being on top: cheerleader, student council candidate, one of the social elite. It all falls apart in an instant when someone prints out texts and messages where she insulted, gossiped, and flat out lied about many of her classmates and posted them all over school Now Regan is a pariah, avoided by even her best friend. With all the problems at school and pressure from her highly achieving mother, Regan is falling apart.

My opinion: I have mixed feeling about this book. On the one hand, it is trying to achieve some lofty goals. It's a teen romance that is also making a point about bullying, social pressure (including pressure from parents), and destigmatizing mental illness. On the other hand, the plot is highly idealized. We're meant to believe that a video made by a couple of students has the ability to change every single student in the school. I don't deny that if more kids spoke up, things might be different in schools. It's the global change from a single video that I object to. It's a nice idea but hard to believe. In the end, I figure this is a good choice for a "fun" read or maybe to introduce a discussion of forms of bullying and prevention.

More information: Life Unaware releases April 28.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Making a puppet show on a short time frame

Next week I'll be helping my nephew (nearly 12 and crazy creative) perform a puppet show version of David and Goliath. We spent about 2 hours this weekend getting ready. This is what we came up with for puppets.

Goliath is made from a puppet that my nephew already owned. This particular puppet has replaceable features so he selected the angriest eyes. Add a viking helmet and beard that he had from Halloween a couple of years ago and a sort of bronze colored fabric for armor and Goliath becomes a pretty menacing figure.

We made David from scratch. He's a basic sock puppet with felt eyes, a card stock nose, and a cardboard circle in his mouth for stability. Fabric scraps and a little bit of extra sock form his clothing and arms. For David's hair we found some hair left over from a doll making project that had become quite matted. It wasn't any good for dolls anymore but looks pretty good on David's head.

Jesse is what is frequently referred to as a glove puppet. His body is a simple shape made from t-shirt. His head is a large plastic Easter egg covered in the toe of a sock. Like David, his eyes are made from felt and his nose from card stock. Some scraps of furry fleece serve as his beard and eye brows. 

There will also be two other puppets. We were able to borrow a glove puppet king to serve as King Saul. Additionally, we'll have a double sided stick puppet for the crowd: cheering on one side and frightened on the other.

Book review - The Murk

Title: The Murk
Author: Robert Lettrick
Genre: horror
Similar books: The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe by Dan Poblocki
                     Frenzy by Robert Lettrick
Rating:

creeptastically informative

Summary: Legend has it that a flower which can cure any disease grows somewhere deep in the Okefenokee Swamp. The last person to hunt for it vanished more than a century ago, the only survivor of the expedition a young guide who emerged from the swamp with tales of a terrifying evil. This flower is Piper's only chance to save her little sister and keep a promise she made years ago.

My opinion: The Murk begins with a reference to Lettrick's previous novel, Frenzy, but it's not particularly necessary to have read that book to understand and enjoy this one. For a horror novel, this book is surprisingly education. There are loads of botany facts and plenty of information about swamp habitats and the creature that live there deftly woven into the plot. While the writing can be a little over the top emotionally and occasionally somewhat graphic in its violence, I feel like those weak points are balanced out by the educational aspects.

More information: The Murk releases April 21st.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Graphic Novel Spotlight: MAUS

NOTE: Usually I post these spotlights on Thursdays, but today is Holocaust Remembrance Day and this seemed like an appropriate way to mark the occasion.
 

MAUS by Art Spiegelman

MAUS was the very first graphic novel I ever read, discovered by chance when I was browsing books about the Holocaust at my high school library. I don't believe it would  be hyperbole to say that that chance discovery changed my life. 

This is the story of Art Spiegelman's father, a Holocuast survivor. Book 1 takes us  from Vladek's life in prewar Germany, through the Nazis' rise to power, to the moment when he arrives at Auschwitz. Book 2 navigates his time in the camps to the end of the war and his eventual emigrationn to the US. For me, MAUS was an entirely singular experience. I'd read a great deal about the Holocaust so none of the abuses Spiegelman describes were entirely surprising. What made it shocking was the visuals (which shy away from nothing) and the close emotional tie to the story. Its not a beautiful book or overly sentimental. Art spends as much time frustrated with his father as he does sympathizing. The drawings have a rough sort of quality, almost like woodcuts, but that harsh style suits the harshness of the story.