Douglas Coupland: Hey! Nostrodamus

My first Coupland, interesting.  A school shooting told by one of the dad victims, then the narration changes to the boyfriend whom ends the killing and tries to save the girl but she dies in his arms.  Then  the boyfriend's lover 10 years on, which really has nothing to do with the shootings, except to say that the boyfriend has a lot of hard times dealing with the disaster.  Then the Dad who is crazy religious.  It is a very interesting style of story telling, and I liked it a lot.  It ends oddly I thought, not much of a tidy bundle, which seems to suit the book anyway, I mean after a horrible thing happens to people how can life just roll on without a ton of consequences?  A worthy read for teens or adults.

The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight

I really liked this mystery, and it seems that Jenny Valentine the author borrowed heavily from a real life imposter.  Cassiel Roadnight is missing and one day someone mistakes the un-named narrator as Mr. Roadnight.  The mystery boy goes along with the idea and poses as the missing teen but keeps thinking he will be caught.  He meets his 'family' and starts to put together the life of the kid he is replacing.  It is suspenseful and creative, -a page turner.

Forgive me Leonard Peacock

Written by Matthew Quick.

This is a wonderful book, with plenty of suspense, literary references, and interesting characters.  Leonard, the narrator, is planning to kill himself after he takes care of several things.  The story is mainly one day, and guides you through his personal history and explains why he has come to this radical decision.  I loved it all the way through as I really was hoping that he would not commit suicide but knowing that he would in the end.  It is not a sad book though, but fairly life affirming.  He is a teen on the fringes who is much more well liked and smarter than he thinks.  He has a good friend, an old man who he visits every day and they communicate using Bogey quotes such as: 'play it again Sam.'  He has the best teacher in the world who realizes what is happening and tries to save Leonard.  He often turns to Hamlet for advice, its all great.

It is good for teens, especially ones questioning their place in the world.

How I live now, Meg Rosoff

I just finished "How I live Now" by Meg Rosoff.  This is an easy reading small book with a lot to say about living with conflict.  Much is left to the imagination though, as it is a journal of one girl's experience.  It is also a romance.  The writing is solid but not spectacular.  I liked it a lot though, -good for teens.

Catching Fire

Yeah, it caught a small fire I guess, but after the 1st one I knew what I was in for.  In preparation of the next version of Tupper Trivia Library challenge, I read it but still have not got around to the games yet.  My co-host is talking about it again so we should get it going.  I thought it was a better book due to its action, further character development, and the one new setting.  The book gets into the possibility of a revolution so the reader can see a future in a way; there is something to anticipate, a little forshadowing that adds intrigrue, which the 1st book lacked.  OK, I read it and I liked it despite my nay-saying.

I may even get to the Mockingjay!

Perfect Escape

I really liked Jennifer Brown's first novel, "The Hate List", but this one isn't as good. "Perfect Escape" is her 3rd book, and is alright but has far less story-telling than "Hate List." There just is not enough content for 352 pages. I feel that she should have added more adventures and characters to fill it out more. There is not enough story here, so its a bit repetitive and borders on boring. The first half of the book was enjoyable but it felt like she ran out of ideas. It has a good premise; a girl in high school cheats in math class, gets caught and takes off in her car with her obsessive compulsive brother. They run away. On a more positive note, I can say that the book is a sensitve look at the problems of teens stuck in a situation where they feel pressured to be perfect, forced to be far too adult-like in behaviour. Perfect Escape is a realistic and touching portrayal of a difficult family dynamic; the girl, Kendra, realizes how tough it is to be a supportive parent. She starts to understand her mom and dad, and becomes closer to her brother despite his problems, and in fact she ends up being a better sister.

Dark Inside/Rage Within, by Jeyn Roberts

Simon & Shuster called me at work back in September and a woman asked if I wanted Jeyn Roberts to come to the school and talk. Sure I said, who is she? I bought the 2nd book of her set and read it, then found the 1st and read it; the last one has yet to be published. The books are set in Vancouver and involve a bunch of young people fighting against the evil from the centre of the earth; the big bad was realised by a bunch of earthquakes, and the bad guys are really really bad. They are super violent and everyone gets killed. All systems are down all across the continent, probably. I read them with enthusiasm but they are very dark and violent. I can't see any good things happening in the last book, but will read it just to see. She is doing fine as a new writer. The story is interesting and the settings are used very well. See the trailer here: hthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMh_xIhiDc&feature=player_embedded

I am almost done with the final installment of the trilogy, "Fury Rising" and its good.  It is self published though, strangely, and has a few typos and maybe some continuity issues.