Hate List by Jennifer Brown

This review contains mild spoilers.


This book centers around Valerie whose boyfriend opened up fire on their high school, taking out people that were include on Val and his "Hate List".

The story is told with back story telling about the shooting, and a current narrative talking about Valerie trying to get on with her life, fit back into the school, and deal with the love she still has for a boy who killed so many, and then himself.

I had a hard time putting this book down, and I really sympathized with Valerie. There were parts of the book that I found to be a bit much. The father moving onto a new life, with his girlfriend wasn't really needed. And the end was a little too kumbaya for me. I think the book could have done well without the very last chapter.

That said, this is Val's story. One in which she deals with left over guilt, and the fact that she still loves someone who turned out to be a monster. Readers will want to know if Val is able to move on with her life, and how she does it.

Blood Feud: The Drake Chronicles Book 2

I was sent an ARC of this book, and I've heard nothing but great things about the first book in this new series, so I decided to read this right away.

Blood Feud is the second in the Drake Chronicles series.  The Drakes are a family of vampires.  That said, this book is much more "Buffy" than Twilight.  It's full of action, and humor, with some romance.  This volume deals with Isabeau, a Hound princess vampire who was created during the French Revolution and left in a coffin for 200 years, and Logan Drake (the frock coat wearing brother of the Drake clan).  Told in alternating view points we find out about a new plot to kidnap Logan's sister, and usurp the Drake family to rule the vampire clans.

I liked the touch of historical fiction in here, and the action was strong.  Isabeau was a bit annoying at times, and Logan was a bit too interested in his clothes for my taste.  The humor is what really kept me going though.  There were times when I had to read parts of this out loud just to share the lines with whomever was near me.

View the Goodreads page for this book

"Fat Lit"

There has been a discussion this week about "Fat Lit".  Books about teens who are overweight and about them being accepted or ok with their bodies (I deleted the email with the actual definition of what this is about exactly).  This discussion included mention of the Fat Acceptance Movement, and other movements that are similar.

The thing is, I guess I just don't like the name "Fat Lit" or "Fat Acceptance Movement".  Now, I am a person who would be considered fat, so I am coming at this from a different perspective than many people would, but the names just bother me.  I think the reason they bother me is that the word fat implies someone who is unhealthy.  When looking up information on the Fat Acceptance Movement I saw mention of the idea of health at every size.  I think I'd rather get behind that movement.

I do respect what the Fat Acceptance Movement is doing, especially when it comes to focusing on health issues.  For years I had what my doctors (note the plural) always called heartburn.  They said it was because I was overweight, and I had to just lose weight to stop suffering.  So, I've worked hard and lost weight.  The heartburn got worse.  It turns out that my gallbladder was the problem.  This past year I had it out and I feel great.  So, I spent over a decade of my life suffering all because the doctors saw me as "fat" and diagnosed me based only on that.

That said, I think encouraging people to be complacent with being fat isn't a good thing.  I'd rather see movements of the understanding that "healthy body size" means different things to different people.  I am 5'2" and a good weight for me is around 150 lbs.  That is in the obese category for someone my height, but that weight fits well on me.  I weigh a good amount more than that now and I ride my bike to work (when it is warm), go to the gym 4-5 times a week, and am very active.

I'd rather a healthy idea get promoted, and supported, rather than an idea that is unhealthy and could almost do as much damage as the idea it is trying to combat.

The Maze of Bones: 39 Clues Book 1

My time spent in the gym has been wonderful for me in more than one way.  After exhausting many movies via my iPod, and getting tired of listening to the same music over and over again, I decided to venture into the world of audiobooks for my gym visits.  After much frustration with my iPod, multiple starts, skipping around within the book, and finally forcing my iPod to let me listen to the book in order, I was able to enjoy the first book in the extremely popular 39 Clues series.

The narrator of this audiobook was pretty good, and reminded me a bit of the man who does the Artemis Fowl audiobooks.  As for the story, well it centers around two siblings, Dan and Amy Cahill who are on a race to solve the mystery set out by their dearly departed great aunt Grace.  The series is written by a host of successful authors, this one by Rick Riordan of Percy Jackson fame, and this book introduces us to Dan, Amy, and many others of the "famous" Cahill family.

The action was pretty fast paced, Dan and Amy's au pair is awesomely funny, and I can see why the books are popular.  That said, I was a little let down by the book.  I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as awesome as I had hoped.  Maybe that's because I bought too much into the hype?  Who knows.  I will most likely listen to more books in the series, or read them myself whenever I can make find some time to actually sit down and read.  In the end, I would be sure to suggest this book to anyone looking for an exciting adventure that their upper elementary or middle school child would enjoy.

Weight loss irks

Ok, I have been inundated with the Biggest Loser and all these other weight loss shows and topics on news sites and the T.V.  While I know many people love The Biggest Loser, and it is inspirational to many people, I just don't like it.  I have seen parts of the show, but the parts I saw I didn't enjoy and I have chosen not to continue watching.  I did look online to see how long the people on The Biggest Loser have to lose their weight because I was curious and sure enough I saw people on yahoo telling someone how to lose up to 15 lbs a week.

Which brings me to the reason I am blogging.  People giving specific (and often full of BS) weight loss online.  Yes, you can find good suggestions for almost anything online, but people need to be very careful what they follow based on advice they "found online".  For granted, I am about to dispense with some weight loss advice, so I am kind of doing exactly what I tell people not to do lol.  Honestly though, life-long weight loss isn't a game or a show.

In the past year I've lost almost 90 lbs (and I am still working on losing more).  Basically, what I've done (besides respecting my weight allergy) is balance healthy eating with working out.  I make substitutions when I can, like yogurt based salad dressing or low-fat cottage cheese for higher fat versions.  Also, I eat food I enjoy, but balance it out with healthier things.  I love pizza, and a local place makes gluten- free pizza.  I still let myself have pizza, I just don't have it often.  And I work out.

If someone wants to lose weight, he or she should do some research, probably talk to his or her doctor, and decide on something that he or she can live with for the rest of her life.  The best bet is probably not to find some weirdo on yahoo telling you how to lose 15 lbs a week by drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day.

When bad covers happen to good books.

I just have to wonder how some covers make it onto books, and why the publishers think these books will appeal to librarians let alone teens whom are going to read and/or purchase the book.  You would think publishers would want to maximize the potential of a book and give it a great cover so that it would pump up sales.  I know, as a librarian, the cover a book can give me pause as to deciding if I will purchase it or not.
Sometimes the covers look dated already, sometimes the colors are off, sometimes the picture is too flat.  Sometimes it is a mix of all of those and more.
Here are some book covers that just leave me thinking, why?

The Lighting Thief and more YA movie news.

Saw the Lightning Thief last night.  It had some really fun parts but on a whole was kind of meh.  The boy who plays Percy Jackson was really awesome though, and I love seeing Sean Bean in almost anything.  The most upsetting thing about the movie though was seeing Pierce Brosnan's hairy upper arms.  Yuck!  Also, I do not see how this movie got a PG rating, but Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was saddled with a PG-13 back in 1984.  I am glad that this movie has added more interest for the books in my library, but I just wish it had been higher quality.  The sad thing is that I still think I enjoyed this movie more than I liked Avatar.

Also, in other YA news I've heard that they have optioned rights a movie version of Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and also the book Heist Society by Ally Carter.

I am also looking forward to Beastly starring Vanessa Hudgens.  I haven't read that book (although I'd love to if I could find some time!)  and am somewhat excited by the news that the Stephanie Plum movie is finally in the works with Katherine Heigl set to star.  I think I may be about the last woman on Earth to have read the Stephanie Plum books, but I did read and enjoy the first one and can't wait to read the second one!