Oh. My. (Insert deity of your choice here). This is the first book I've read in a while that made me stay up 'till one AM just to finish it. I kept getting busted in class for taking it out and reading it while the teacher was talking, too. It's so good, I can't even tell you. I started it on Monday and finished it in the early hours of Tuesday, and that's not a thin book. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. Okay, sorry. I'm raving incoherently. On to the review of Fat Cat by Robin Brande.
Cat, a junior in high school, is fat. There's no other way to say it. However, on the flipside she's sassy, fun, smart, and has a great mind for science. This year, she's taking the dreaded/anticipated science class that either makes or breaks your chances in the science field after college. Students blindly pick out a picture from National Geographic and the like, and have to build a seven-month project around that. Cat, hoping for some bug or something that she already knows about, is dismayed when she gets a picture of early humans- Homo erectus. Inspiration strikes, though, when she takes a look at how fit they are: what if that early lifestyle that the hominins ate was the reason they were so, well, skinny? She gets an idea to use herself as a guinea pig; for seven months she'll live as closely as possible to the early hominins. That means giving up technology, eating what would have been available at that time, and adopting the lifestyle. Well, not the live-in-a-cave-hunt-for-meat aspect, but walking everywhere and forgoing makeup, junk food, etc. Supported by her best friend Amanda and spurred on by a need to avenge herself against the guy who broke her heart, Cat has to learn how to live without caffeine, a car, and the internet for half a year. What ensues is hilarious, thought-provoking, and enlightening at times.
Okay, can I say again how awesome this book is? Just kidding, I don't need your permission. Hahahaha! Now you have to be subjected to my endless praise of how good this book is. First of all, I loved that throughout the whole book I never really knew where the plot would go or what would happen next. It kept me on my toes right up until the end. Secondly, every character was really well-written, and incredibly multi-dimensional. You can't help but fall in love with them. I think this would appeal to any girl, no matter your size or shape. It's a truly phenomenal book. You're crazy if you don't read it. So go! Pick it up at Kettleson or Mt. Edgecumbe!
Hola! Glad you're taking some time to check up on my humble blog in your post-Valentine chocolate haze. It's a dangerous affliction, people. I have a minor case myself. This week's book doesn't have anything at all to do with Valentine's Day, so if you're particularly interested in that you'll be disappointed. It is really good in a different way, though. I picked it up because I'm a sucker for anything by Meg Cabot, and wasn't disappointed. Sooo, before I get sidetracked: here's Airhead by Meg Cabot!
Tomboy Emerson Watts, who goes by Em, is a cynic. Along with her best friend Christopher, she's spent her whole life knowing that Hollywood is corrupt and has unrealistic standards of beauty. She goes out of her way to avoid and not support big businesses. That's kind of hard sometimes when her sister epitomizes everything that she's trying to work against: obsessed with pop culture and celebrities and makeup, etc. That's how Em comes to be dragged into going to see Nikki Howard at a local megastore; Nikki Howard is your typical blonde, beautiful supermodel sensation. At this event, everything changes when a jumbotron falls on Em (later, she learns that Nikki Howard mysteriously collapsed at that same event). When she wakes up, she's in for a shock. Somehow, Em Watts has become Nikki Howard. She still has her mind, but gets a newfound distaste for junk food and anything sugary, and of course has the body of a supermodel. After freaking out -and not in the happy way- about this, Em learns that her old self was reported to have died and only her family know the truth. What's more, Stark (the gigantic company that employed Nikki) wants her to go about her life as if nothing happened. And by that, they mean Nikki's life. Add that to the fact that Em's sister is looking at her like she's already planning the parties Em will host, and you get (in Em's eyes) a disaster of epic proportions. Great.
Sooo. Really good, funny book for any teenage girl with a slight cynical streak (like me). Even though it's not a suspense book or anything, it pulls you in to the point where you don't want to stop reading it. Meg Cabot definitely didn't disappoint. If I'm not mistaken, there are two books after this one, which I fully intend to read. You, on the other hand, should go pick up Airhead if it sounded interesting. Find it a SHS or Mt. Edgecumbe. Ciao!
Another good book! This one was pretty fast-paced, and went by quickly. It wasn't up to the Divergent standard, but it was good enough to keep me hooked until I finished it. It's got a pretty flexible age range, too: from middle school to maybe upper high school. Overall, a pretty respectable book. Here's Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn.
This takes place in a modern world where a boundary has been drawn across the northern US and Russia. All territory north of there belongs to dragons, the result of a truce after a war between dragons and humans. Everything has been peaceful for hundreds of years, but many people still live in fear of the reportedly barbaric dragons. Children are taught in school about the dragon-human war and how brutish and dim they are.
Kay, seventeen, has always been outdoorsy. She especially loves rock climbing and hiking. One day, she is illegally rock climbing near the border when she has an accident and her life is saved by a dragon. He, calling himself Artegal, defies all the statements made about dragons. Kay's even more shocked to learn that he can speak and is just as curious of humans as she is of dragons. They start meeting in secret and soon actually become friends. Trouble's coming soon between dragons and humans though. The tensions are starting to mount and the humans are getting more fearful and unstable.On the brink of another war, will Kay and Artegal be able to stop the feuding or will their presence just inflame things?
Yep. Kind of a 21st century fantasy novel. I think it could have been written a tiny bit better, but it was still really good. I definitely recommend it. Pick it up at SHS (um, after I've returned it tomorrow). Happy early Valentine's Day!
sdlkfjlkjsdlvninfvoljfnb! Okay. Now that I've got that out of my system, let's move on from the crazy week I'm having to the actual review. I picked this out randomly last week because it looked like a good lighthearted teen book (kinda like Audrey, Wait). Well, it wasn't, but it was still really good in a different way. I had one of those moments where right after you finish the book, you're just in a daze and you don't do anything for a minute. That probably doesn't describe it very well, but I hope you know the feeling. The "I'm kind of in shock that that's over" kind of feeling. Anyway, enough with my profoundness (ha. yeah right). The book is Famous by Todd Strasser.
Jamie is a prodigy of sorts, or at least that's what the articles say about her. At fifteen, she's the youngest paparazzo in New York City (though she prefers the term "celebrity photographer") and very well known because of a few lucky photos she has gotten. Suddenly, right as her career is fading, she gets an opportunity to go to LA and spend a week photographing Willow Twine. Willow is still in the "sweet girl who appeals to the younger audience" category of stars, though that's been jeopardized by a stint in rehab that was quickly shoved into a corner. When Jamie wakes up one morning in LA, she finds her camera in a different place and, more importantly, carrying photos that she never took. These photos could catapult her career and ruin Willow's.
Then Jamie starts to think about what led up to this, and the story -from the beginning- is slowly pieced together with some help from her best friend Avy. Between this unravels Avy's own story of his experiences with fame and fortune. Suddenly nothing is clear, and the darker side of Hollywood is exposed.
Yeah. It's kind of sad sometimes and makes you think other times, and it's a really great book. Not lighthearted, though, and I would suggest this to high schoolers only. I still really liked it. One disclaimer, however: pay attention to the time caption at the beginning of each chapter! I spent the first couple chapters being oblivious to them and got severely confused. You've been warned! Anyway, get Famous at SHS.
