A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a little more on the high fantasy side of things than I usually prefer. A great deal of the plot deals with bargains and the inter-workings and machinations of the high fae. I found those elements to be rather wearing. At heart, though, this is an excellent retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I'd go so far as to say I prefer it to Disney's version. For one thing, Feyre is a far more powerful character than Disney's Belle. Feyre has given up everything to protect her family. She's a hardened hunter, undereducated, though we see touches of a softer side early on with her fondness for painting. She's stubborn, outspoken, and opinionated, attributes that serve a heroine well in high fantasy. Prythian is a delightfully described world, making this book worth reading for descriptions alone. It's a weighty read but worth wading through if you have the patience.

The Doubt Factory

Book #1 complete!

The Doubt Factory is a complex, political novel. It's the story of a privileged teenage girl who has her whole world shaken by what she thinks is a prankster called 2.0. It isn't long before she discovers that 2.0 is much more. This group of activists has uncovered a industry of misinformation and doubt that has allowed dangerous, life-threatening products to remain on the market, unlabeled, for years. Companies are getting rich at the cost of human lives. And 2.0 isn't going to stand for it any longer. They just need Alix's help to get proof and get the message out.

I love books like this one about being awakened to the dark side of our modern life. Teens are already questioning many things about their personal lives. It's important to encourage them to question the larger world as well. The Doubt Factory takes a very close look at public relations and the media, encouraging the reader to look beyond the story that is being spun to the facts underneath. The writing is tight and tense. The characters have complexity and voice. This is a great book for the thinking reader.

And...Go!

I'm super excited to get started on the 48 Hour Book Challenge! It's now 8 am and this is my official Starting Line post. Join me periodically over the next 48 hours to see what I've read so far.

Here's my to-read pile

Not pictured: The Doubt Factory, The Disappearance of Emily H, Out of the Dragon's Mouth, Razorhurst, and How to Fly With Broken Wings

Books on screen

Coraline

If you've ever read Neil Gaiman, you know he's kind of the king of weird. Coraline is often considered his crowning achievement (though personally I prefer The Graveyard Book or Fortunately, the Milk). The whole book reads like a nightmare, seeded with a constant sense of unreality. 
The movie makes a few significant changes. It adds two elements: a neighbor boy and dolls which watch the other mother's victims. Wybie, the neighbor, is in many ways a sensible addition. In the book Coraline spends a great deal of time alone so much of the plot exposition takes place in her mind. Another character allows the exposition to be verbalized. The dolls feel a little unnecessary.
More noticeable, and more questionable, is the nature of the other home. In the movie, the world beyond the door has a delightful magical quality not present in the book. In the book the "other" has a decidedly unnatural feel, whole-heartedly unsettling. While it makes the menace of the other mother more startling, it isn't true to the original story.
Other changes can be explained away as necessary for cinematography, pacing and the like. While I certainly prefer the book and the absolutely eerie audio book narrated by Gaiman himself, the movie is worth a watch. At the very least its an impressive feat of stop motion animation.

Book review - Spelled

Title: Spelled
Author: Betsy Schow
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Bewitched in Oz by Laura J. Burns
                     The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
Rating:

Not exactly what I expected, but nice

Summary: Dorothea isn't exactly thrilled to be a princess. While being able to buy whatever she wants is nice, she's under a curse and can never leave the castle. To make matters worse, her parents have just informed her that she has been betrothed to the less-than-charming Prince Kato. In a fit of rage, Dorothea makes a wish that sends her world into chaos and puts it in danger of being taken over by a very wicked witch.

My opinion: Initially, I was somewhat annoyed by this book. There is a point where cultural and fairy tale references go from cute and clever to irritating. This book has a tendency to toe that line. It wasn't until I passed the halfway point that it began to redeem itself. I had been expecting something more along the lines of Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles, that nearly effortless combination of classic stories. This book includes elements of nearly as many stories but the combination is more awkward. I like that it draws material from the original Oz book series, rather than the movie (including the hammer heads which were always my favorite). This makes for a more menacing version of Oz that fits the darker nature of this plot. The ending redeems a lot of the slow, awkward start and Dorothea ends the book far more likeable than she began.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

A frisbee story

The story of today's craft goes something like this: My nephew was visiting this weekend, so I didn't have any immediate plans to make any craft projects. As it turns out, our weather this weekend was phenomenal. Sunny, warm, the works. The sort of weather that begs for picnics and outdoor activities. I live in a second floor apartment, so I don't really have much in the way of outdoor equipment. Not even a frisbee, as it turns out. The solution? Make one.

Luckily, I have a copy of this book:

which has a pattern for a crocheted t-shirt frisbee. It was simple enough to find an old shirt and cut it into the appropriate sized strip. The crocheting itself should have been quick work. Of course, three rounds in my crochet hook broke. And I didn't have another one that size. Or even in a close size. I found a smaller hook and tried to work really loose. Which, of course, didn't work. The resulting frisbee looked more like a hat. I ended up pulling pretty much the whole thing out and making up the pattern as I went along. We ended up with a not completely round, sort of curly, frisbee. But it mostly flew straight and was easy to throw and carry. To my mind, that makes it worthwhile.

It's not much to look at, but was pretty fun to toss around.

Book review - Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave

Title: Survival Strategies of the Almost Brave
Author: Jen White
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson
                     Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
Rating:

charming, thoughtful

Summary: Liberty and Billie are supposed to be spending the summer (and hopefully the foreseeable future) with their dad, a nature photographer who travels around the country in an RV. That was the plan. Then their dad leaves them at a gas station and disappears. When she realizes that their dad is not coming back, it is up to Liberty to take care of them both and hopefully find a way to get them back to California and the friend they were staying with after their mother died. Along the way they meet a lot of interesting people.

My opinion: There's just something about survival stories - finding shelter, food, friendship, and transport in a strange place far from home, even if that strange place is a city. We find these stories highly appealing. This book is a solid representation of the genre. For most kids this isn't going to be a casual read. There are too many serious events. It might be a good selection for group discussion, though.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley