Beautiful Music For Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is the story of Gabe, who was born Elizabeth, and who just wants to become a radio DJ as he was meant to be. When he was ten, Gabe’s DJ mentor, John, moved in next door. Supposedly, John was the first radio DJ to play Elvis on the airwaves back in the day. To Gabe, that’s pretty cool. Pretty awesome, in fact. John helps Gabe get a radio show on the local community station at midnight on Fridays where Gabe becomes something of a local celebrity. There’s just one problem. Gabe recently graduated highschool as Elizabeth and most of the school doesn’t realize that Elizabeth has always felt like she was a boy inside. Coming out to his family didn’t exactly go as planned and his parents, struggling with the sudden change, still call him Elizabeth. No one seems to understand who he is. When Gabe wins the heart of a popular girl, things start to get dangerous with threats on his life, and that of his family. Even so, Gabe finds himself falling for his BFF since forever: pretty Paige. But does Paige return Gabe’s feelings, or will another girl take his heart? Gabe has his doubts about love and who he is throughout the story, but ultimately, he remains strong and true to himself.

This was a fast read  I couldn’t put down, and one I highly recommend. As the author states at the very end, not every person has the same experiences, yet I found Gabe’s story to be very realistic and inspiring. I won’t give away the ending, but I will say that it wasn’t perfect, as life is almost never perfect. The characters were great, and I loved the fact that Gabe wanted to be a radio DJ. Little known fact: that was my dream job when I was in middle school and early high school, so to see her living that dream was pretty awesome, especially when it seems like there are fewer and fewer DJs today than there were years ago. A note about musical taste, Gabe likes a wide variety of things, half of which I haven’t heard of and half of which was popular a bazillion years ago. That’s cool. I like the fact that she doesn’t stick to one genre of music, and I especially like the fact that she doesn’t stick to what’s popular right now. She really knows her music. Overall, this book was fabulous, and I would read it again in a heartbeat.

For those who are interested, at the end, the author included a section about what it means to be transgender and transsexual. She explains the various words that fall underneath the umbrella of transgender, including genderqueer, and what it means to not fall into the “gender binary”. This section is short and easy to understand for anyone who has yet to learn about gender differences. For this section, the author is awesome. She really did a great job.

Soul Eaters is a hillarious manga and anime series that chronicles the adventures and tasks of three aspiring scythe carriers who are trainees at the Death Weapon Meister Academy (humans who can yield scythe weapons to destroy evil villains stalking Death City) and their partners, who can transform into  weapons for their meisters so they can acquire the 99 souls of evil beings and the soul of one witch to be accepted by Death himself to use their scythes to carry out his will. 

The three main characters are a shy teenage girl named Maka Albern and her partner Soul Eater who has the ability to turn into a scythe as a weapon. The twist with this duo is that Maka is secretly attracted to Soul Eater and always becomes jealous or angry when Soul Eater doesn’t pay her any attention. Black Star is a young boy who likes to consider himself to be a silent and deadly assassin, yet always fails to be silent and fails in acquiring evil souls. His partner is Tsubaki who can transform into many different kinds of knifes and swords and continuously has to work with and handle Black Star’s outrageous tendencies to prove that he is the greatest assassin at the academy. And finally there is Death the Kid, who happens to be Death’s son. His partners are a pair of sisters, Liz and Patty Thompson, who can transform into pistols for Death the Kid. The only problem is that Death the Kid has an obsessive compulsive disorder where everything he sees and touches has to be correctly aligned or else he becomes too distracted to complete any of his missions for the academy and tends to leave the sister’s behind to complete the mission on their own. 

I was introduced to this series by a few friends of mine and while I was watching the first episode and watched as Soul Eater litterally swallowed an evil red soul in the shape of a tear drop and then burped in Maka’s face after the two of them handily dealt the evil being its deathly blow, I knew this series was for me. There is intense fight scenes in each episode that are crossed with hillarious jokes and jabs at each character’s  quirks as their adventures unfold. I’ve only watched the first three episodes of the series but I already know I want to keeep learning more about these characters and the crazy academy they are a part of. The library has series 1-10 for the manga version of Soul Eater and has the whole collection in anime as well.

Written by Kevin Kindorf

Simmons College LIS intern 2/12/13

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series by Brian Jacques

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is the story of a young, mute boy, Ben, and his faithful black lab, Ned. They are stuck aboard a ship called The Flying Dutchman, where an evil captain rules. When the ship is destroyed and the crew cursed to roam the seas forever, the boy and his dog are saved by one of God’s angels who curses them to roam the earth forever, never growing older. The angel gives them both special powers. Ben can now speak any language he needs to, and the two have a mind bond that allows them to communicate with each other via thought. Together Ben and Ned travel the world as directed by the angel and help anyone they can along the way. But even as they travel, The Flying Dutchman and its evil captain haunt their dreams and forshadow terrible things to come.

There are three books to this series: Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, The Angel’s Command, and Voyage of Slaves.  I’ve just finished the third book, but since I haven’t reviewed any of the books here yet, this review will cover the series as a whole. If you like adventures, especially seafaring adventures, you’ll like these books. These can be read by older kids and teens alike. While there is a lot of action, this series is very different from Brian Jacques’ Redwall series. The avenging angel directs Ben and Ned, but it’s not overly religious at all. It’s a historical fantasy series, so the religion is only included as part of the time period for the most part. In the third book, unlike the others, there are characters from all over the world, and sometimes they use pet names (such as My Sweet, or Little Girl) for each other in their native languge. Those words, when first used, are starred, and an English translation is put at the bottom of the page. Overall, this is a great series where friends are made, evil doers are caught, and everything is righted in the end. It’s a fun, relaxing read. The final book has an ending that works well as an ending to the series as a whole. I say this  because it was very possible the author meant to write more before his death, but I don’t know for sure. This ending could go either way for the series, so you, as a reader, are not left hanging, needing to know what happens next. The books should be read in order, but each story is wrapped up at the end of each book.

Scorch by Gina Damico

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is the sequel to Gina Damico’s first book Croak, which I reviewed just last week. If you haven’t read Croak, be aware, spoilers ahead! So, Lex’s twin sister is no longer in the land of the living and Zara is running around on the loose Damning criminals to an eternity spent as ghosts, rather than letting them get into the coziness of the Afterlife. There’s only one problem here. Zara thinks Lex has something she wants. Something very powerful. And she’ll stop at nothing to get it. When she starts Damning innocent people and even Grims all over the world, Lex realizes she’d better act fast and find The Wrong Book. But that’s not all. Things are even worse in Croak. Norwood and Heloise are doing their evil best to convince the rest of the town that the Junior Grims are terrible delinquents who can’t do anything right, and that Lex’s Uncle Mort is no longer fit for the job of town Mayor. It’s finally time for Lex, her Uncle Mort, and the other Juniors to skip down and seek safety in DeMyse, a huge, glitzy city, home to Grims on the west coast, much like Las Vegas. Of course, hijinks ensue, and our favorite characters from the Afterlife have a knack for traveling as well. Not only do we get to see more of Cordy, Lex’s twin sister, but we also get to see her new, albeit dead, beau: the hottest and youngest king to roam the Earth. King Tut? Yep. Things couldn’t get more wild in the Afterlife.

This book kept me even more on the edge of my seat than the first book. The humor was still fresh, the action awesome and terrifying, and the romance at times very sweet, realistic, and bumbling, just the way I like it. Nothing is perfect, not even romance, and I like the way she portrays it in these books. It’s not the main storyline, but it is pretty major. Plus, for those interested, there is a side gay romance in here that gets left by a cliffhanger at the end. I’m hoping it won’t be long before the next book comes out. I’m not sure I can wait forever on this series. If you like a bit of gore and creepiness, if you like humorous and realistic romance, if you enjoy talking to dead people… this series is for you! And I highly recommend having book 2 ready to read as soon as you finish book 1. You’ll be glad you did.

Croak by Gina Demico

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is the story of a 16-year-old teen who gets shipped off to spend the summer with her Uncle Mort because of sudden behavioral issues. Lex, named after the battle of Lexington, has no idea why she turned violent. She just knows that she likes to punch people and it doesn’t matter whether they’ve done something to personally offend her or not. But when she gets to the town of Croak, NY (Population 82), she’s startled to discover that her uncle isn’t the farmer she expected. He’s a Grim Reaper. And so is everyone else in the small town. She was born to be a Grim. At first she isn’t sure about this, but the more she hangs out with the other Junior Grims, and the more time she spends at work, Killing dead bodies so her partner can Cull the souls to send the people to the afterlife, the more she comes to realize that Croak is where she belongs.

But then, mysterious deaths start to occur. Not only do the medical examiners not know what’s killing these people, seemingly at random, but neither do the Grims. When it become apparent that the killer could very well be a Grim, it’s up to Lex and the other Junior Grims to figure it out.

Honestly, I think I died laughing. No joke. This book is at the same time dark, very serious and yet light with humor. I loved getting to hang out in the afterlife with the dead famous people like Edgar Allen Poe who seems to be the only one who doesn’t like John Wilkes Booth because John stole Edgar’s favorite quill. When we get the absolutely lovely description of the alcohol-like drink that actually has no alcohol in it, I about died, wishing I could have a cup. Keep in mind, the drink has no alcohol, but if a Grim has more than three drinks in a row, that could spell a very different kind of trouble: Death. The murder mystery that takes place is definitely a mystery that will defy you until near the end of the book. At least, it did for me. The book is at times creepy, but there is also a healthy dose of awkward romance to go along with the creep. While most books these days throw in the perfect romance between the two perfect main characters, this romance is not perfect. Nothing goes as planned and neither are the two main characters perfect. It’s wonderfully realistic.

Over all, this book was a nice breath of fresh air from all the books that only seem to mimic each other these days. Yep, there’s a girl on the cover, but she’s wearing a black hoodie (proper Grim attire) and carrying a large scythe. Not a fancy dress that never gets worn in the book. But be aware of one thing. As you near the end of the first book, make sure you have Scorch, the second book, handy because you’ll want to dive right in without waiting. Trust me, this book is awesome. And the story’s not done yet…

I can’t recommend this book enough.

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is the story about a young man going by the nickname Cass who kills ghosts for a living. Yep. You heard right. Cass kills ghosts for a living. The job has been in his family for generations and he’s the latest to pick up the athame, or knife, his father used to demolish the dead who demolish the living. Only this time, as he moves to Canada with his mother, he finally meets his match. Anna Dressed In Blood is a ghost he can’t kill until he can figure out how and why she died. The truth is shocking and as horrible as having Satan himself sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with you and your family. But even then, Cass still can’t kill Anna, even knowing the high number of people she’s killed since her death. The feelings he’s kept locked inside to protect the rest of the world from his job are threatening to come out, he’s actually made friends for the first time, and yet another ghost seems to be after him.  Why did Anna protect Cass from other teens trying to play a mean prank on him? And what’s he going to do to get out of this sticky situation?

I read this not knowing what to expect. And I LOVED it. The book keeps you guessing right up until the very end. The characters were realistic, and even the ghosts were relatable and likeable. My only complaint with this book was how the police handled each death and missing persons case. The cops didn’t look hard for missing teenagers, or murderers. In talking with real life police, I know they wouldn’t pass off a missing teenager as someone who’d simply runaway and leave it at that. However, as this wasn’t all about police procedure, I was able to put that at the back of my mind and enjoy the rest of the story.  All in all, I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good mystery or horror novel. It’s that awesome.

Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us by Kate Bornstein

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is a non-fiction title that explores… gender! What else would a book with a title like this one be talking about? Of course. Gender. Specifically, this book delves into the questions some people will have about the traditional gender roles and physical bodies that we’ve had almost since the beginning of time. Kate talks about days when transgendered or transexuals were seen as spirituals and how that changed over time. She covers wide ground in this book.

Some readers will be put off by the “collage” aspect of her writing. She includes quotes, poetry, mini essays, and even a full-length play toward the end. It’s all intermixed, so you never know what you’re going to get when you flip the page. Hmmm… sounds a bit like what she’s talking about with Gender, actually! You don’t have to agree with her thoughts at all. What she does is to raise questions to make you think. What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a male to female transexual who happens to be a lesbian, who’s girlfriend ends up a female to male transexual? What does all this mean? What about those who define themselves as neither gender? She isn’t aiming for shock value here… well, maybe a little, but more than that, she wants to make you THINK about your life, about the people you see around you every day.

When you see a stranger down the street, if you can’t identify which country they come from it’s not nearly as annoying as when you can’t identify whether they are male or female. If you can’t identify their gender, you’ll stare at them until you come to a decision. If you can’t determine their race or age, you shrug your shoulders and move on. Why is that? Why?

I have to be honest, while I was thoroughly enjoying the book, I was a bit afraid of the play. I thought it would be dry and borning. I avoided it for a day and a half before I finally delved into it. It was very well written. I could easily picture everything going on in my head. I heard all three characters voices in my head as if they were talking right in front of me. In short: I loved it!

The overall questions she asks are brilliant. What is identity? What is YOUR identity? Yes, this book was written over ten years ago now, quickly approaching twenty years now, but her questions are still relevant. Some of the references (such as political activists and television shows) might not be recognizable by today’s teenager, but they can easily be looked up on the internet for a quick clarification. The important part is that she wrote the book to last well into the future, and that it does quite well.

Please note: There are a few mentions of adult content, but they are few and far between without going into great details. Over all, this is a fantastic book for anyone, teen or adult, who may be questioning their gender, or who may know someone else who is.

What is gender? And why are we so attached to a binary gender system when it’s becoming more and more clear that more than two genders exist in this world? Good questions. What do YOU think? Read the book and post a comment below.

Quotes from the book that I especially liked:

“A free society is one where it’s safe to be unpopular.” – Adlai Stevenson

Who was Stevenson? Adlai Stevenson was a leading Democrat of the 1950s, famed for his quick wit and deep intellect, and for his eloquence in support of liberal causes. He was the Democratic candidate for president in 1952 and 1956, losing badly both times to Dwight Eisenhower. Stevenson was the governor of Illinois from 1949-53, and served as the American ambassador to the United Nations during the John Kennedy administration.

“Safe gender is being who and what we want to be when we

want to be that, with no threat of censure or violence.

Safe gender is going as far in any direction as we wish,

With no threat to our health, or anyone else’s.

Safe gender is not being pressured into passing, not

Having to lie, not having to hide.

Sane gender is asking questions about gender – talking

To people who do gender, and opening up about our

Gender histories and our gender desires.

Sane gender is probably very, very funny.

Consensual gender is respecting each others’ definition

Of gender, and respecting the wishes of some to be alone,

And respecting the intentions of others to be inclusive in

Their own time.

Consensual gender is non-violent in that it doesn’t force

Its way in on anyone.

Consensual gender opens its arms and welcomes all

People as gender outcasts – whoever is willing to admit it.”

-Kate Bornstein

Doomwyte by Brian Jacques

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is the story of the woodland creatures of Redwall Abby who live by the code of honor and friendship to all. A riddle is found that was written by Gonff the Prince of Mousethieves many seasons ago, detailing the whereabouts of the Doomwyte Eyes. These are four precious jewels Gonff stole from the Wytes, a murderous band of birds and their snakes, who still harbor a hatred toward any creature they can kill and eat. Not only is there one riddle to start off the search for the jewels, there are several more along the way. Not only are there riddles, there are plenty of songs, feasts, fights, bad guys, good guys, laughter, love, and lots of fun.

I just finished this wickedly awesome fantasy adventure novel this afternoon and completely loved every minute of it. Some of the Redwall books seem to be the same as the others, but this one provided a fresh story with new creatures and very different adventures that made it fun to read Brian Jacques all over again. I was constantly wondering where the book would end up because at no point was the ending obvious. I especially loved the character of Umphrey Spikkle who showed that one doesn’t need to know how to read and write in order to do good work, have fun, and save the day. He also shows that it’s never to late to learn what all those squiggles on the page actually mean.

A note about Redwall as a series: Brian Jacques (pronounced Jakes) wrote the series to be read in any order. Each novel makes for a good stand alone story. However, I highly recommend reading Redwall and Mossflower first, as they explain the story of Martin the Warrior, the eventual spirit guide who appears in later novels, and the beginnings of Redwall Abby.  I also highly recommend Mossflower because it’s the prequel to Redwall, and is by far, my favorite of all the Redwall books.

Odd Hours by Dean Koontz

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This is a continuation of Odd Thomas’s storywhich was started in the novel Odd Thomas. In this novel, Odd meets new friends and battles new enemies with the help of a ghost dog named Boo, the ghost of famous signer Frank Sinatra, and his own nearly psychic powers. Who’s to say which side of the law anyone is on, including the local church pastor and the Chief of Police when it comes down to a huge terrorist plot on California soil.

I have to admit, I enjoyed the first three Odd Thomas books much better than I did this one. Not to say that this novel wasn’t as well written as the others, because it certainly was. But there were a few bits dealing with the plot that didn’t work for me. One was the beginning where a few things didn’t seem very plausible. But, the part I really loved, was the scene where he had to pick on Frank Sinatra to anger him. He needed to turn the usually calm ghost into a poltergeist in order to help move the ghost on to the next world, and also to save himself from death. A fantastic scene if ever there was one.

Will my disapointments turn me away from the rest of this series? No way. Odd Appocolypse is coming out soon, and I definitely can’t wait to get my hands on it!  

And with this novel done, I’ve only got four more on my summer reading list to go! Woot!

A Rumor Of War by Philip Caputo

Read by: Anna/Copley Teen Room

This was a fantastic book about one officer’s experience in the Vietnam war. Caputo pulls no punches when he talks about what happened. He lays it all out there and writes it as if you, the reader, are actually there. You feel like you’re in the trenches taking mortar rounds. You feel as if you’re struggling to climb a hill suddenly beseiged by Viet Cong who disappear as quickly as they’d arrived.

I had a hard time getting into this, but it wasn’t because the story was boring. It was anything but. However, once I was into it, I was into it and just like Caputo, I couldn’t wait for the Vietnam War to end. Such a truthful memoir. This is the realities of war. And that’s what I liked about it. He didn’t make it seem like some fantasy Hollywood blockbuster.

In short, if you’re interested in history, about past wars, or maybe you’re looking to join the military, this is definitely a book you should check out. Just don’t expect to read it in one day unless you skim it. I wouldn’t recommend skimming it because you’ll lose the full effect of the war that Caputo puts into his memoir.