Book Reviews
Apr. 7th, 2006 07:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
melwilSo, yesterday, I went to the library. *rubs hands with glee* And there's a couple of other books I hadn't reviewed yet.
Book 57: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
The warning was lost on Artemis. He was already somewhere else. A familiar electric buzz was crackling over his skin. This was the beginning of something. He could feel it.
Artemis Fowl is now up there on my list of good children's series. Holly Smart the LEP Recon, and Artemis Fowl the teenaged criminal mastermind are back, with all their hangers on. This time they are united for two purposes - to close down the goblins threatening the lower world, and to try and rescue Artemis's father from the icy edges of Russia.
The book is, like the first one, laugh out loud funny. It's always good seeing enemies working together (remember Buffy and Spike at the end of season 2?), but the two of them actually begin to have some respect for each other. All in all, another great read.
4 out of 5
Amazon's Page
Virtual Writer dot net
Now for the April books.
Book 58: The Sixth Form at St Clare's by Pamela Cox
Pat and Isabel O'sullivan walked along the station platform in a sedate manner, as befitted the head girls of St Clare's.
Enid Blyton wrote 6 St Clare's books, but neglected to tell us what happened in the 3rd and 6th forms. Luckily we have the answers in Authorized Fanfiction - books written with Blyton's characters, in all new situations. This is the first of the two books written by Pamela Cox and I had avoided them until now.
The book feels weird from the first chapter, as if Cox is either trying to modernise the story, or is unfamiliar with the time/style of the other books. It gets a little more comfortable as you get into it, but a lot of our favourite characters are neglected as we explore the 'new girls' in more distinct stop-start story lines than Blyton had. I don't think I'll be seeking out the Third Form book.
A 3 out of 5.
Book 59: Supernova by Catherine Hapka
She touched her silver star pendant. If her parents were here, she knew what they would say. Follow your dreams, Star. Always follow your dreams.
I read this one as part of an idea I had for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
new_atalanta. And it was cheap. And not quite as painful as listening to a Nikki Webster album.
Star Calloway is a 14 year old mega pop star with a secret. Her family disappeared on a boat trip just before Star became famous. But life is okay now. She has lots of money that she can lavish on her grandmother, and she's about to head out on her first tour. But there's evil press and adoring fans to deal with, not to mention her nasty rival, and the way everything keeps going wrong.
This book might appeal to some 8 year olds, who are standing in front of their mirrors and singing into hairbrushes. Star's life seems pretty good, there's no real hard work, and everyone she works with is so nice. Parents would like it too - Star's got a crush on a boy, but it's all very sweet. And there's a big emphais on Star acting like a girl, rather than a Britney look-alike (just wait until she grows up and gets married to one of her back up dancers.)
Basically the book is good for snarkiness for adults, and might appeal to some young girls. But it is fairly well written, though I could see the villian a mile away.
A 3 out of 5
Amazon's page
Powells.com
Book 60: Skinny Dipping by Melissa De La Cruz
Before Buffalo and Bankruptcy, Eliza had been famous for being the prettiest, most popular girl on the New York private school circuit.
For a sequel of a book called 'The Au Pairs' there's very little about the children. This book tells the story of Eliza, Mara and Jacqui - three girls who had been au pairs together the summer before this story begins. Only Mara and Jacqui are au pair-ing this year. Eliza has a shiny job with a nightclub, which she thinks will be her ticket to fame and a place with the good people in the aftermath of her father's bankruptcy. However, it's Mara who claims the it-girl status this year. Meanwhile Jacqui is left with the dysfunctional Perry children. There's also boys (of course) and alcohol, and a peep at the debauched Hampshire lifestyle they apparently all lead. And an approach to teenage sex which seems a little too flippant and easy to me.
This wasn't an easy book to want to read. The main characters are basically repulsive - really only in it for themselves. The secondary characters really are repulsive. Overall, though, the stories are weaved together well, and everyone learns their lesson by the end of the book.
A 2.5 out of 5.
Amazon's Page
Teen Reads
Book 61: Starting Gate by Bonnie Bryant
"I think you're being unfair, George," protested Skye. "These girls are expert horsewomen. Far better riders than I am."
This is the first, and hopefully the last Saddle Club book I will ever read. The Saddle Club, of course, are Carole, Stevie and Lisa - three girls who are apparently experts about horses. In this story, they travel to California to participate in a horse event. But their horses don't arrive! So they spend all their time with their fried Skye - the (male) teenaged movie star taming a wild horse and his tamer.
I was never a horse girl. While every other girl in my school class was reading horse books I was a Baby-Sitters fan. So the horse parts of this book are rather boring to me. And I'm not sure if three girls can be expert horsewomen/horse whisperers. And it seems rather wasteful to take a trip across the country and spend the whole time invading a movie set. So basically the book was poorly written (I believe it's ghost written) and implausible.
A 2 out of 5
I think I'll leave it there now - there's two more books, but they can wait.
Book 57: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
The warning was lost on Artemis. He was already somewhere else. A familiar electric buzz was crackling over his skin. This was the beginning of something. He could feel it.
Artemis Fowl is now up there on my list of good children's series. Holly Smart the LEP Recon, and Artemis Fowl the teenaged criminal mastermind are back, with all their hangers on. This time they are united for two purposes - to close down the goblins threatening the lower world, and to try and rescue Artemis's father from the icy edges of Russia.
The book is, like the first one, laugh out loud funny. It's always good seeing enemies working together (remember Buffy and Spike at the end of season 2?), but the two of them actually begin to have some respect for each other. All in all, another great read.
4 out of 5
Amazon's Page
Virtual Writer dot net
Now for the April books.
Book 58: The Sixth Form at St Clare's by Pamela Cox
Pat and Isabel O'sullivan walked along the station platform in a sedate manner, as befitted the head girls of St Clare's.
Enid Blyton wrote 6 St Clare's books, but neglected to tell us what happened in the 3rd and 6th forms. Luckily we have the answers in Authorized Fanfiction - books written with Blyton's characters, in all new situations. This is the first of the two books written by Pamela Cox and I had avoided them until now.
The book feels weird from the first chapter, as if Cox is either trying to modernise the story, or is unfamiliar with the time/style of the other books. It gets a little more comfortable as you get into it, but a lot of our favourite characters are neglected as we explore the 'new girls' in more distinct stop-start story lines than Blyton had. I don't think I'll be seeking out the Third Form book.
A 3 out of 5.
Book 59: Supernova by Catherine Hapka
She touched her silver star pendant. If her parents were here, she knew what they would say. Follow your dreams, Star. Always follow your dreams.
I read this one as part of an idea I had for
new_atalanta. And it was cheap. And not quite as painful as listening to a Nikki Webster album.Star Calloway is a 14 year old mega pop star with a secret. Her family disappeared on a boat trip just before Star became famous. But life is okay now. She has lots of money that she can lavish on her grandmother, and she's about to head out on her first tour. But there's evil press and adoring fans to deal with, not to mention her nasty rival, and the way everything keeps going wrong.
This book might appeal to some 8 year olds, who are standing in front of their mirrors and singing into hairbrushes. Star's life seems pretty good, there's no real hard work, and everyone she works with is so nice. Parents would like it too - Star's got a crush on a boy, but it's all very sweet. And there's a big emphais on Star acting like a girl, rather than a Britney look-alike (just wait until she grows up and gets married to one of her back up dancers.)
Basically the book is good for snarkiness for adults, and might appeal to some young girls. But it is fairly well written, though I could see the villian a mile away.
A 3 out of 5
Amazon's page
Powells.com
Book 60: Skinny Dipping by Melissa De La Cruz
Before Buffalo and Bankruptcy, Eliza had been famous for being the prettiest, most popular girl on the New York private school circuit.
For a sequel of a book called 'The Au Pairs' there's very little about the children. This book tells the story of Eliza, Mara and Jacqui - three girls who had been au pairs together the summer before this story begins. Only Mara and Jacqui are au pair-ing this year. Eliza has a shiny job with a nightclub, which she thinks will be her ticket to fame and a place with the good people in the aftermath of her father's bankruptcy. However, it's Mara who claims the it-girl status this year. Meanwhile Jacqui is left with the dysfunctional Perry children. There's also boys (of course) and alcohol, and a peep at the debauched Hampshire lifestyle they apparently all lead. And an approach to teenage sex which seems a little too flippant and easy to me.
This wasn't an easy book to want to read. The main characters are basically repulsive - really only in it for themselves. The secondary characters really are repulsive. Overall, though, the stories are weaved together well, and everyone learns their lesson by the end of the book.
A 2.5 out of 5.
Amazon's Page
Teen Reads
Book 61: Starting Gate by Bonnie Bryant
"I think you're being unfair, George," protested Skye. "These girls are expert horsewomen. Far better riders than I am."
This is the first, and hopefully the last Saddle Club book I will ever read. The Saddle Club, of course, are Carole, Stevie and Lisa - three girls who are apparently experts about horses. In this story, they travel to California to participate in a horse event. But their horses don't arrive! So they spend all their time with their fried Skye - the (male) teenaged movie star taming a wild horse and his tamer.
I was never a horse girl. While every other girl in my school class was reading horse books I was a Baby-Sitters fan. So the horse parts of this book are rather boring to me. And I'm not sure if three girls can be expert horsewomen/horse whisperers. And it seems rather wasteful to take a trip across the country and spend the whole time invading a movie set. So basically the book was poorly written (I believe it's ghost written) and implausible.
A 2 out of 5
I think I'll leave it there now - there's two more books, but they can wait.
