The adults are gone, shooting a movie out of the country and have left Cherokee, Witch Baby, and Raphael in the care of Coyote, their Native American friend. Coyote prefers to be alone, however, and the teenagers are pretty much in charge of themselves. This may be the cause of the mayhem.
First, Witchbaby is sad. She won't leave the mud shed where she keeps her drums. She is covered in mud. She eats it. She pretends she is a seed. Cherokee decides to make her wings. She asks Coyote for help and he calls on the birds to give their feathers. With the wings, Witchbaby rises from the mud and plays the drums at her own birthday party where Angel Juan reappears.
The four teenagers start a band and soon they are getting popular. Cherokee will ask for gifts for each of the Goat Guys but there are some dangerous consequences.
This isn't my favorite Weetzie Bat book. Honestly, I have always found Cherokee a bit annoying. It's still a pretty good read though.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block
The second in the Weetzie Bat series is possibly my favorite. I love Witch Baby. She is one of my all time favorite characters.
Witch Baby is the love child (or maybe not so love child) of My Secret Agent Lover Man and Vixanne Wigg. She has purple tilty eyes and curly cashew toes and tangle ball black hair. She is so different from the rest of her family. She sees the world like her father, as a dark, sad place. Every night before bed she puts three news stories on her wall. She is always fighting like an angry kitten and she is in love with Angel Juan, who is not in love with her.
This is a story of Witch Baby learning who she is and learning about love and life and being a part of a family. It is sweet, tender, and humorous.
Witch Baby is the love child (or maybe not so love child) of My Secret Agent Lover Man and Vixanne Wigg. She has purple tilty eyes and curly cashew toes and tangle ball black hair. She is so different from the rest of her family. She sees the world like her father, as a dark, sad place. Every night before bed she puts three news stories on her wall. She is always fighting like an angry kitten and she is in love with Angel Juan, who is not in love with her.
This is a story of Witch Baby learning who she is and learning about love and life and being a part of a family. It is sweet, tender, and humorous.
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Green Mile by Stephen King
I kind of think that all of King's books should be released as serials. I love King's writing. In fact, at this point I don't think I've come across a book of his that I don't like. However, I have to admit that I haven't read a lot of them. They are so long that they look daunting. I would have read The Stand years ago if it had been a serial novel!
So, I read this in the six separate books (uping my book count for the year) but chose to review them as one large book.
Paul Edgecomb is old. He's really, really old. He's living in a home that his grandchildren have put him in and he is nagged by the memory of 1932, the year he was a supervisor on a death row block and a miracle occurred. A man accused of murdering two girls is sent to walk the green mile but John Coffey turns out to be nothing like he seems.
I really liked this book. I don't want to say too much because this set up lends itself to giving a lot away. It feels like every book has a climax and every climax is pertinent to the plot. I think that this is another pretty smart novel from King though, bringing to light racial issues and revolving around the theme of good and evil. I hope to watch the movie soon, which I've only seen parts of. Rest assured, the book was completely worth the time.
So, I read this in the six separate books (uping my book count for the year) but chose to review them as one large book.
Paul Edgecomb is old. He's really, really old. He's living in a home that his grandchildren have put him in and he is nagged by the memory of 1932, the year he was a supervisor on a death row block and a miracle occurred. A man accused of murdering two girls is sent to walk the green mile but John Coffey turns out to be nothing like he seems.
I really liked this book. I don't want to say too much because this set up lends itself to giving a lot away. It feels like every book has a climax and every climax is pertinent to the plot. I think that this is another pretty smart novel from King though, bringing to light racial issues and revolving around the theme of good and evil. I hope to watch the movie soon, which I've only seen parts of. Rest assured, the book was completely worth the time.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Aimee by Mary Beth Miller
One thing that I've really enjoyed about reading this year is that I have forced myself to take out books that have been on my "To Be Read List" since as early as 2000. Out of the few that I've read (four or five, I think), only one has been kind of crappy and then the rest have been gems like this.
Our main character (MC), we don't know her name until about 20 pages from the end, is telling the story through a journal. She is required to keep a journal by her psychologist, who she calls Marge because she looks like a Marge even if that isn't her name.
MC is lonely and living with a terrible guilt. Her best friend, Aimee, killed herself and MC has been accused of having some hand in it, causing the news papers to call her JK for Jack Kevorkian. Through little blips of back story, we learn that MC was part of a tight knit group of friends. They were always together and they were always helping each other. The reader may see Aimee's warning signs early. She exhibits reckless behavior that at first seems typical for a teenager but somehow has a darkness to it.
I enjoyed a lot about this book. I felt so close to the MC because of how it was told. It also felt like a mystery. We don't know why Aimee is upset until late in the book and we don't hear about how she died until nearly the end. This was a fast read, engrossing and well written.
Our main character (MC), we don't know her name until about 20 pages from the end, is telling the story through a journal. She is required to keep a journal by her psychologist, who she calls Marge because she looks like a Marge even if that isn't her name.
MC is lonely and living with a terrible guilt. Her best friend, Aimee, killed herself and MC has been accused of having some hand in it, causing the news papers to call her JK for Jack Kevorkian. Through little blips of back story, we learn that MC was part of a tight knit group of friends. They were always together and they were always helping each other. The reader may see Aimee's warning signs early. She exhibits reckless behavior that at first seems typical for a teenager but somehow has a darkness to it.
I enjoyed a lot about this book. I felt so close to the MC because of how it was told. It also felt like a mystery. We don't know why Aimee is upset until late in the book and we don't hear about how she died until nearly the end. This was a fast read, engrossing and well written.
Monday, June 20, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, June 17, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
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.
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.
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