![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_ant posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
imperfectletter161. 21 Proms edited by David Levithan
A series of 21 short stories about prom. Makes sense, right? I enjoyed almost all of the stories and together, they made up a nice collection of both good and bad prom stories. The collection fit nicely together and the stories flowed quite well from one to the other. I won't go into detail about all of them, but here are the ones I liked best: 'You are a prom queen, dance dance dance' by Elizabeth Craft, 'In Vodka Veritas' by Holly Black, 'Three fates' by Aimee Friedman, 'Shutter' by Will Leitch, Prom for fat girls by Rachel Cohn, 'Lost Sometimes' by David Levithan, and 'The Great American Morp' by John Green.
162. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
I'm not big into fantasy, but my sister promised me that I'd like this book, and she was right. It's not quite historical fiction and it's not totally fantasy, instead it's a nice combination of the two. In this world, the English are battling the French -- but not just with armies and navys, they also have dragons. The English don't have nearly enough dragons as compared to the French, and this puts them at an obvious disadvantage. We follow the story with a navy man, Laurence, whose ship captures a French one, freeing them up their prize possession -- a dragon egg. Laurence is forced to figure out what to do with the dragon once it hatches and who will become it's captain. I enjoyed the story, and about halfway through the book, checked out the next two in the series. Novik does a very good job of mixing humor with the serious topics of war. The dragons themselves are fantastic characters in their own right. I am so happy my sister suggested I read this. It's got just enough mix to not be too much of a fantasy nor too much of a historical fiction. And as with Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan, it does a fantasy/historical fiction mix quite well.
163. Are We There Yet? by David Levithan
Levithan does it again. Are We There Yet? is a brilliant and beautiful story about two brothers who don't really get a long. In a lot of ways, this reminded me of the relationship between my sister and I (though we get along much, much better than Danny and Elijah). The story, told in alternating points of view (Elijah in one chapter, Danny in the next), explores the relationship between the two brothers as seen through the eyes of both boys as well as an mildly omniscient narrator. The boys are tricked into going to Italy (together) by their parents. Levithan writes of their relationship beautifully, having each boy dissect why they believe the relationship doesn't work. Their paths intertwine as they rave from Venice to Florence and eventually Rome. Along the way, they meet and fall for Julia, a Canadian visiting Italy. But what makes this book so good is the qy Levithan describes things -- the art, architecture, the way the boys see the city, the way the boys feel. While I wasn't a big fan of Wide Awake, I think that Are We There Yet? proves that Levithan is a truly fantastic author.
163 / 170 new reads. 96% read!
A series of 21 short stories about prom. Makes sense, right? I enjoyed almost all of the stories and together, they made up a nice collection of both good and bad prom stories. The collection fit nicely together and the stories flowed quite well from one to the other. I won't go into detail about all of them, but here are the ones I liked best: 'You are a prom queen, dance dance dance' by Elizabeth Craft, 'In Vodka Veritas' by Holly Black, 'Three fates' by Aimee Friedman, 'Shutter' by Will Leitch, Prom for fat girls by Rachel Cohn, 'Lost Sometimes' by David Levithan, and 'The Great American Morp' by John Green.
162. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
I'm not big into fantasy, but my sister promised me that I'd like this book, and she was right. It's not quite historical fiction and it's not totally fantasy, instead it's a nice combination of the two. In this world, the English are battling the French -- but not just with armies and navys, they also have dragons. The English don't have nearly enough dragons as compared to the French, and this puts them at an obvious disadvantage. We follow the story with a navy man, Laurence, whose ship captures a French one, freeing them up their prize possession -- a dragon egg. Laurence is forced to figure out what to do with the dragon once it hatches and who will become it's captain. I enjoyed the story, and about halfway through the book, checked out the next two in the series. Novik does a very good job of mixing humor with the serious topics of war. The dragons themselves are fantastic characters in their own right. I am so happy my sister suggested I read this. It's got just enough mix to not be too much of a fantasy nor too much of a historical fiction. And as with Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan, it does a fantasy/historical fiction mix quite well.
163. Are We There Yet? by David Levithan
Levithan does it again. Are We There Yet? is a brilliant and beautiful story about two brothers who don't really get a long. In a lot of ways, this reminded me of the relationship between my sister and I (though we get along much, much better than Danny and Elijah). The story, told in alternating points of view (Elijah in one chapter, Danny in the next), explores the relationship between the two brothers as seen through the eyes of both boys as well as an mildly omniscient narrator. The boys are tricked into going to Italy (together) by their parents. Levithan writes of their relationship beautifully, having each boy dissect why they believe the relationship doesn't work. Their paths intertwine as they rave from Venice to Florence and eventually Rome. Along the way, they meet and fall for Julia, a Canadian visiting Italy. But what makes this book so good is the qy Levithan describes things -- the art, architecture, the way the boys see the city, the way the boys feel. While I wasn't a big fan of Wide Awake, I think that Are We There Yet? proves that Levithan is a truly fantastic author.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 10:28 pm (UTC)The third book gets a little (or a lot) slow in the middle, but (I can't believe I'm saying this) the end is well worth slogging through it.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-12 11:59 pm (UTC)I didn't tell you, did I? Sorry! I meant to. It's quite good.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-13 12:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-13 12:21 am (UTC)Actually, I read it over a weekend, it didn't take me long and I fell in love with Laurence and the dragon! Aren't there two other books in the series?
no subject
Date: 2008-12-13 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-13 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-13 12:35 am (UTC)