Surviving High School by Lele Pons and Melissa de la Cruz
Sometimes a person you admire from some other medium puts out a book that is a major disappointment. Their regular voice is dynamic and funny but on paper they're dull and painfully awkward. Not so here. Lele's voice really shines in this book. Reading it is like listening to her talk for a couple of hours. Great for when you need a laugh or 20.
Pages in this book: 272
Pages read so far in challenge: 2834
Superman: Before Truth by Gene Luen Yang
Normally I don't read DC or Marvel graphic novels. It's not that I have anything against superheroes. Actually, I'm a big fan of the tv shows and movies. It's just that the comics are all interwoven. It feels like you have to read every single title, every hero, to have a clue as to what's going on. I mostly picked this one because of the author. I'd hoped that it would stand alone more. It has a plot of it's own, sure, but it references some previous events for which I have no frame of reference. A decent plot and well drawn but somewhat hard to follow on its own.
Pages in this book: 146
Pages read so far in challenge: 2562
Railhead by Philip Reeve
I encountered two problems with this book: 1) it's pretty hard core sci-fi (space, robots, all that jazz) which is not my usual fare 2) It was incredibly complex and very difficult to process at this point in the reading-challenge. I should have attempted it earlier.
But...
This really is a fascinating book. I liked the juxtaposition of train travel (which we tend to view as old-fashioned) with the high-tech stuff like sentient robots and direct-to-brain computer interfaces. It is perhaps overly complex for the target age range but serious sci-fi fans will appreciated it's devotion to detail.
Pages in this book: 353
Pages read so far in challenge: 2416
Weekends with Max and His Dad by Linda Urban
I like that this book focuses primarily on the adventures Max has with his dad rather than the drama of having divorced parents. This is all about getting used to new surroundings: meeting new neighbors, exploring the neighborhood, that sort of thing. That sort of experience is more universal. The writing is accessible to kids without being condescending and remains halfway engaging for a parent who is reading along or aloud.
Pages in this book: 159
Pages read so far in challenge: 2063
Falling into the Dragon's Mouth by Holly Thompson
I'm a huge fan of verse novels. They don't pop up often enough for my tastes, especially for a middle grade audience like this one. The verse style really suits this story. Jason is a fish out of water. Sure he's lived in Japan for three years. That doesn't mean he fits in. He doesn't always have the words to express himself. In school, this is a literal lack of vocabulary. He doesn't always know the Japanese to express himself. And like many preteens, he can't always express his emotions effectively. He's also hindered by a desire to fit in. He can't turn in his bullies because, in the culture of middle school, he can't be a snitch and risk losing the few friends he has. Now, the verse style can be a little distancing, especially in action scenes, but overall I think this book is a great choice.
Pages in this book: 352
Pages read so far in challenge: 1904
Dream House by Marzia Bisognin
This was my first real disappointment of the challenge. It's not a bad book, just not a great one. There wasn't great deal of depth, not much in the way of character development. I felt like Amethyst was just floating through events, barely questioning what was going on around her. It wants to be a horror novel but the atmosphere just isn't there. It could have been delightfully creepy. I could envision this as a halfway successful horror movie were the presentation stronger.
Pages in this book: 224
Pages read so far in challenge: 1552
Burning by Danielle Rollins
This was a good choice for this point in my line-up. The sci-fi/horror vibe was a nice change of pace. The trend of solid reads continues. Firstly, the world of the detention center is solidly portrayed. I liked that while each girl is individual, has her own quirks, personality, and habits, Rollins doesn't try too hard to make them vastly different. There isn't that "Breakfast Club" vibe that some books try too hard to build. In the end, the girls are just girls, brought together by bad choices and circumstance. while there are sci-fi elements (pyrokinesis, specifically) they aren't the main focus of the novel, making it readable even for those who don't typically read genre fiction. While the ending was a little less than satisfying, the majority of the book is well worth your time.
Pages in this book: 352
Pages read so far in challenge: 1328
