Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac ~ Gabrielle Kilmi

In which memories are lost, gained, and remade. Also I discover a love for old records.

Fifteen year old Naomi’s life was going pretty well. Or so they tell her. Personally, she can’t remember. After taking a serious fall, she’s lost four years of her memory. She doesn’t remember her best friend, her parents’ divorce, her boyfriend, even what she likes to do. It’s a long, tangled road of love, love lost, love, love lost, before Naomi finally knows where, and how, she belongs.
I liked this book. A lot. I liked the use of music throughout (I Will by the Beatles, Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve, and Better Man by Pearl Jam? All in the same book? YES.), I LOVE the character development, but mostly I loved Will. Naomi’s best friend. he’s the constant that doesn’t let her forget herself, and is always there for her when she’s frustrated. he wears old fashioned clothes, has a record collection, and uses a type writer. I don’t mind saying, I was in love.
Light, but thoughtful, I’ve been recommending this book as soon as I got to chapter two.
I made my mom read it. Yeah. It was THAT fun.

Review: No More Dead Dogs ~Gordan Korman

In which dogs do not die (or do they?) and I want to write to Julia Roberts

Let’s start off with something light.

“No More Dead Dogs” is about two kids, Wallace Wallace (yes, that is his real name) and Rachel Turner, who go to the same high school. Wallace is a bad football player who is hailed as a celebrity for a fluke goal last season. Rachel is an aspiring actress in the school’s drama club. She writes to Julia Roberts instead of keeping a diary. Yeah. Don’t laugh. You all know you wanted to. When Wallace tells their English, Mr. Fogelman, that the teach’s beloved book Old Shepis trash, Fogelman sentences the boy to detention until he writes a proper report, or in reality, recognizes the complete brilliance of Old Shep. Even if the dog dies at the end for no good reason. Unfortunately for both Rachel and Wallace, this detention must be spent by sitting in on the drama club’s rehearsals. The play this year? You guessed it. A theatre version of Old Shep himself. When Wallace takes an interest in the play, making suggestion that are widely regarded as improvements, Rachel believes her acting career is getting taken over by the football jock, who doesn’t really care about the play anyways. And when the play starts getting sabotaged, she’s certain she knows the culprit.

I’m going to try to avoid spoilers, but here’s some thoughts on the plot.

I love the characters. Everyone in this school is their own personality, with their own thoughts. The way they interact with each other and miscommunicate is a riot, and I found myself laughing out loud with each page. Wallace Wallace with his inability to lie, his ex-best friend Cavanaugh’s bad name calling, and Trudi Davis’s hopeless infatuations; everyone has their own quirks.
This book was a great reminder about rumour spreading, and its effects. Sometimes it’s harmless, sometimes it can really hurt people.
The concept of a high school rising up against the traditional dog books like Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Sounder, where the dog always dies, was endearing, believable, and hilariously funny. This book was in keeping with Korman’s other books I have read and enjoyed like his Macdonald Hall series. Confession: I like this author best when he’s working in a high school.

And come on, really? Who DOESN’T want to write Julia Roberts about our high school problems? I know I do!

First Post!

In which we find the purpose for this blog, a little bit about the authoress, and hopefully a cliffhanger to segue into next time.

Hey all!

Glad you found this place. Let me tell you how I got here. I was just wandering around the internet one day, minding my own business, when I suddenly stumbled across a blog creator. And I thought to myself, “Self, don’t I have that project coming up for my Library Software class?”
“Why, I guess I do, Self. Why do I bring it up?”
“Why don’t I create a blog about books? I love books, I love the internet, and I love talking about books that I love on the internet! It’s perfect!”

And that’s how it happened. Since I predominately read books that are suitable for the ages of 13 and up, this blog’s theme and purpose will be YA books (that’s ‘young adult’ for the uninitiated among you). I’m only 20 years old myself, and haven’t found a reason to move onto “adult” books yet. There are just so many good books for young people that I still have to read! And so, over the next few weeks, I shall be talking about some books that I love. Please indulge me in my passion, I’ll try not to ramble. Stay tuned!