Nothing Special

Herbach, Geoff. Nothing Special.
1 May 2012

After figuring out a few things about himself and his family in Stupid Fast, Felton Reinstein is back. This time, he is in pursuit of his brother Andrew, who is everything Felton is not-- small, musically inclined, and sensitive. Andrew has decided to fake going to band camp and run away to meet his estranged grandfather in Florida. Felton is concerned because he has blown off Andrew's concerts and knows that his reknown as a sports star has shoved Andrew further into the shadows. The book starts with Felton trying to fly to Florida and having difficulty making his connections, so he is writing a long and rambling letter to Aleah, his former girlfriend who is in Germany. It turns out that this is a return trip to Florida-- Felton and his friend Gus had driven down to find Andrew once, but after a disastrous meeting with his grandfather, Felton returned home so that his mother Jerri wouldn't worry too much. The two trips run parallel to each other in the book, and we find out more and more about Felton, Andrew and their complicated family relationship.
Strengths: For boys who liked An Abundance of Katherines, or just like the idea of being off on their own in a car, this is a great book. There are lots of funny moments, and a decent amount of grossness (sweat and manure smells play a large part in the book.)
Weaknesses: I found the descriptions of the two trips occurring at the same time to be somewhat confusing, and since I have little patience for travel that doesn't go as planned, Felton's flight delays made me kind of itchy. This is more of a young adult book in that there is more of a voyage of self discovery than most middle school boys have patience for. Nothing blows up.

There's supposed to be a blog tour with all sorts of fascinating questions and answers by Mr. Herbach, but this occurs during an insane time of year, so I don't have any more info here. Check out Emilie's Book World and A Good Addiction for interviews, I Like These Books for another review, and YA Books Central blog for a guest post!

Hyperbole Saturday

It's always fun when books congregate and a theme emerges. When Remarkable, The Exceptionals, and Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms had a harmonic convergence next to my reading chair, they begged to be mentioned together, especially since they shared something else in common-- they weren't quite what I needed. I got them in a box of ARCs from Baker and Taylor, so feel I should mention them because they might be exactly what someone else is looking for.

Cashman, Erin. The Exceptionals.

From the Publisher: " Born into a famous family of exceptionally talented people, fifteen-year-old Claire Walker has deliberately chosen to live an average life. But everything changes the night of the Spring Fling, when her parents decide it's high time she transferred to Cambial Academy--the prestigious boarding school that her great-grandfather founded for students with supernatural abilities. Despite her attempts to blend in, Claire stands out at Cambial simply because she is normal. But unbeknownst to her new friends, she has a powerful gift she considers too lame to admit. Suddenly, the most talented students in school--the Exceptinals--begin to disappear. In an attempt to find out what happened to them, Claire comes across a prophecy foretelling a mysterious girl who will use her ability to save Cambial students from a dire fate. Could she be that girl? Claire decides there is only one way to find out: she must embrace her ability once and for all. "

Why this didn't work for me: I liked the writing, and the story was engaging, but it's too paranormal/YA for what I need right now.

Evans, Lissa. Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms.

From the Publisher: "Enter a wonderful world filled with real magic, mystery, and danger. As if being small and having S. Hortenas his name isn't bad enough, now 10-year-old Stuart is forced to move far away from all his friends.But on his very first day in his new home, Stuart's swept up in an extraordinary adventure: the quest to find his great-uncle Tony--a famous magician who literally disappeared off the face of the earth--and Tony's marvelous, long-lost workshop. Along the way, Stuart reluctantly accepts help from the annoying triplets next door... and encounters trouble from another magician who's also desperate to get hold of Tony's treasures."

Why this didn't work for me: A bit too young, and a bit too British. Might be good for fans of Lemony Snicket. Also very oddly reminiscent of The Shrinking of Treehorn in the illustrations.

Foley, Lizzie K. Remarkable.

From the Publisher:" In the mountain town of Remarkable, everyone is extraordinarily talented, extraordinarily gifted, or just plain extraordinary. Everyone, that is, except Jane Doe, the most average ten-year-old who ever lived. But everything changes when the mischievous, downright criminal Grimlet twins enroll in Jane's school and a strange pirate captain appears in town. Thus begins a series of adventures that put some of Remarkable's most infamous inhabitants and their long-held secrets in danger. It's up to Jane, in her own modest style, to come to the rescue and prove that she is capable of some rather exceptional things. "

Why it didn't work for me: Set off my quirky/precious meter. Love the cover, though. Again, this would please the Snicket crowd.

Hathaway, Jill. Slide.

From the Publisher: : "Vee Bell, able to slide into other people's minds, sees someone standing over the body of her sister's best friend, Sophie, holding a bloody knife but she is afraid that anyone she tells will think her crazy and so she must find a way to identify the killer herself, before he or she strikes again."

Why it didn't work for me: Too YA. I was intrigued until the younger sister and friend run off with a bottle of rum in search of diet coke. I would buy this for a high school collection, though.

And yes, I am hording ARCs so that I have books to give to students who have no other way of getting books when the library closes down for the summer. Because we are ending earlier this year, all books are due on May 11! This usually means that there's about a week when students need to read but can't have a library book. Trust me, I am already panicking about this and mustering resources, but since there are about 1,500 books checked out at any given moment, it really does take two full weeks to get everything back in.

Girl Sunday

Look at all the girls on the covers. *Weary Sigh* The following will be great for someone, just not for my library, where I haven't been moving much paranormal romance lately. Oddly, a lot of Ellen Conford and Beverly Cleary has been circulating, and girls have been wanting funny, realistic fiction about girls who play sports. Unfortunately, none of these fit that bill.

Shirvington, Jessica. Embrace (Violet Eden Chapters #1)

From Kirkus Reviews, 1/12: " Seventeen-year-old Violet Eden's mother died in childbirth, leaving her to be raised by her detached, workaholic father. If it weren't for her best friend Steph and her trainer (and secret love) Lincoln, Violet would be very much alone. But on her 17th birthday, everything changes. Though finally being kissed by Lincoln is a dream come true, Violet learns that their romantic involvement is forbidden because he and Violet are both Grigori--half angel and half human. They're destined to be eternal partners in the battle against exiled angels on Earth, and romance would make things far too complicated. "

Why This Didn't Work For Me: Just don't need any more paranormal romances.

Agresti, Aimee. Illuminate.

From the Publisher: "Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city- Chicago-and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit. As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem."

Why This Didn't Work For Me: Just don't need any more paranormal romances.

Gould, Sasha. Cross My Heart.

From the Publisher:" After her older sister, Beatrice, drowns in 1585 Venice, sixteen-year-old Laura is removed from the convent by the father who forced her to live there in order to for her to marry Beatrice's fiance, a repulsive old merchant named Vincenzo, but Laura has other plans and after she is accepted into a shadowy society of women known as the Segreta, Laura begins to question whether her sister's death was actually a tragic accident."

Why This Didn't Work For Me: Slightly paranormal and an odd historical period. Young Adult fiction is really much more introspective than middle grade fiction.

Coker, Rachel. Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words.

From the Publisher: "If Sam Carroll hadn't shown up, she might have been able to get to her mother in time. Instead, Allie Everly finds herself at a funeral, mourning the loss of her beloved mother. She is dealt another blow when, a few hours later, she is sent from Tennessee to Maine to become the daughter of Miss Beatrice Lovell, a prim woman with a faith Allie cannot accept.Poetry and letters written to her mother become the only things keeping Allie's heart from hardening completely. But then Sam arrives for the summer, and with him comes many confusing emotions, both toward him and the people around her. As World War II looms, Allie will be forced to decide whether hanging on to the past is worth losing her chance to be loved."

Why This Didn't Work For Me: This didn't seem at all historical, and was confusing and wordy in the way that the writing that my students hand me to read is. I finally looked at the back cover and discovered that the writer is 15. Hey, she's written an entire book and had it published and I haven't, but I think that her writing will improve with age and experience.

Child, Lauren. Ruby Redfort: Look into My Eyes.

From the Publisher: Crack open this new series starring Ruby Redfort - Clarice Bean's favorite all-action heroine - and you will literally be on the edge of your wits. Now in her own starring role, Ruby, a genius code-cracker and daring detective, along with her sidekick butler, Hitch, work for a secret crime-busting organization called Spectrum. Ruby gets into lots of scrapes with evil villains, but she's always ice-cool in a crisis.

Why It Didn't Work for Me: This reads like a Harriet the Spy for the new millenium. Only problem? No one is reading Harriet the Spy. I was also confused as to when this took place-- there was a mention about a house being built a few years previously in 1961, but it seemed very modern.