Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Did you know that I have declared this the summer of Francesca Lia Block (FLB)? I realized that it had been a long time since I read some of my favorite books by my favorite young adult author and also that there were some books I never even attempted to read. I got caught under my rock, in other words. I found a list on Lists of Bests and started at the top.

Weetzie Bat is a cult classic in the YA world. It's filled with magical characters and beautiful descriptions. This is the story of Weetzie Bat, daughter of Brandi-Lynn and Charlie Bat who are separated. Weetzie thinks that everyone she goes to school with is blind because they cannot see how beautiful LA is. Then she meets Dirk. They are fast friends and together they decide to find a My Secret Agent Lover Man for Weetzie and a Duck for Dirk. With the help of a genie, they find just that!

Don't let the names throw you off. One of my friends had a hard time reading this because of names like My Secret Agent Lover Man and Witch Baby but the story is so beautiful that you'll want to wear dresses with poetry written on them in glitter.

Brains for Lunch by K. A. Holt

I discovered this book on a list of books written in verse for young adults. (This is a shameless attempt to make 100 books this year but I have very little pride and you can't judge me. lol) As a fan of the Misfits, the title struck a chord with me. ("Brains for dinner. Brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast. Brains for brunch!") It was described as a novel about zombies told completely in haiku. How could I not be excited for this book?

I was sadly disappointed.

I was expecting this to be cool. I wanted it to be funny and a little gruesome and aimed at high schoolers, not middle schoolers. The story was too cute. The humor was too cute. The ending was too neat and happy.

It only took me about a half hour to read so if you're curious go for it but I wouldn't waste my time.

Debt-Free by 30 by Jason Anthony

I think that one of the reasons I like personal finance books is because they make me feel smart. First, I feel smart because I am actually reading them. Second, the case stories are always so extreme that any financial trouble I've gotten myself into seems itty bitty, teeny weeny. This was kind of one of those books. There were even tests that I aced most of the time. I have a great relationship with money, apparently.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I finished it about a week ago. There were things that I really liked about it. It was easy to read and understand, key in dealing with a bunch of 20-somethings. Some of the advice was pretty sound, too. I really liked the chapter on insurance. It broke down what you REALLY need. For instance, they suggest only buying comprehensive if a car is under 8 years old, advice that sounds great but that I had never heard before.

Then, there was the crap. Because this book is aimed at 20-somethings, the authors pepper it with humor that sometimes falls flat and other times is just obnoxious. There are a lot of pop culture references that dated the book. Also, one of the tips for paying off debt is to credit card surf. Take out a card with a low introductory rate, use it to pay off an account, and transfer the balance to a new low intro rate card when the intro period is done. Basically, they are suggesting that a bunch of 20-somethings open a bunch of cards and either keep them open, thus allowing for temptation, or close them, thus harming their credit score.

Like I said, I'm just not sure about this one. It was a nice refresher and I felt a little better motivated after reading it but I'd rather stick with Dave Ramsey.