Review: Generation Dead / Daniel Waters

Title/Author: Generation Dead / Daniel Waters
Format / Pages: Hardback / 392 pages
Publisher: Hyperion
ISBN: 978-142310921-1
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Library

From the book jacket: All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. They are coming back to life, but they are no longer the same. Termed "living impaired" or "differently biotic", they are doing their best to blend into society again.

But the kids at Oakvale High don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws to protect the differently biotic from the people who want them to disappear - for good.

With her pale skin and goth wardrobe, Phoebe Kendall has never run with the popular crowd. But no one can believe it when she falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids: not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has realized that his feelings for Phoebe run much deeper than just friendship. He would do anything for her - but what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

First line: Phoebe and her friends held their breath as the dead girl in the plaid skirt walked past their table in the lunchroom.

My thoughts: Let me first say, they did not make books like this when I was growing up! While there were some very good young adult books when I was a teenager (back in the 90s!) the quality of young adult books has grown so much in the past few years - and this book is no exception.

Waters' first book is smart and funny, thought-provoking, and relevant to the problems teenagers face - although, admittedly, I don't think zombie-ism is running rampant right now. This fabulous book really held my attention. I couldn't put it down and when I turned the last page, the next thing I did was go right to my local library's website and put the next book in the series on hold. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Review: Heavier Than Heaven (Charles R. Cross)

Amazon.com's review.

"He was the shape of suicide." - Ryan Aigner about Kurt Cobain quoted in Heavier Than Heaven.

Like many people of my generation, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain shaped the way I listened to music and what I listened to. Before I found Nirvana, my musical tastes ranged only as far as New Kids on the Block and Paula Abdul. I don't remember when I first heart them - probably when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came out - but I remember my musical tastes subsequently being transformed.

I remember watching the vigil held after his death and hearing Courtney speak and cry and wail and read Kurt's suicide note. I remember Rolling Stone published some of the note. It really affected me at the time - as it did many other kids my age. So many teenagers were absolutely devastated by his death. It's a sad story. He really was, or could have been, an amazing man. He was, no doubt, a lyrical genius who inspired many, many people.

This book was an extremely interesting read. The author delves into the psychology behind Cobain's oddities and freakishness - because, let's face it, he was a pretty weird dude, even before he began abusing drugs. The book delves into Cobain's childhood, friendships, girlfriends, but hits the heart of the matter when he meets the Great Train Wreck, Courtney Love. The book shows Courtney's "human" side. We all simply see her as a big hot mess but she really was a driving force behind his life. Many people thought of her as Nirvana's "Yoko Ono" and thought she was the one who started Kurt heavily into drugs, but the truth is, he was using long before he met her. She did her best by him, and their love for one another - and their daughter, Frances Bean - clearly shines through.

Review: You Can Run But You Can't Hide (Duane "Dog" Chapman)

Title and author of book: You Can Run But You Can't Hide - Duane "Dog" Chapman

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Non-fiction, memoir.

What led you to pick up this book? I love the Dog! Back when I had cable, I watched his show all the time. Plus, I love biographies and memoirs.

Plot summary:Duane Chapman, aka Dog the Bounty Hunter, has had an amazing life. He had a troubled and trying upbringing, which led to an early life of crime, including numerous arrests for armed robbery and a murder conviction. While Dog claims to be innocent of the murder rap, he maintains that the 5 years he served for the crime changed his life. With a newfound respect for the law, Dog vowed to become a force for change and good. This inspired him to pursue a career in bounty hunting. Dog is now the owner of Da Kine Bail Bonds in Honolulu and self-proclaimed Greatest Bounty Hunter in the World. Six thousand-plus captures over the past two decades have earned this highly intense, charismatic ex-con and born-again Christian such a distinction. He is also a devoted father of 12-and some of his older children work with him as bounty hunters, along with his equally charismatic new wife Beth. In YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE, Dog details all this and more, giving his legion of fans all the details they've been waiting for.

What did you like most about the book? I liked reading about how Dog got started bounty hunting. It doesn't seem to be a career one chooses - it's more of a "I just fell into it" kind of thing.

What did you like least? Dog - no surprise - has a bit of an ego and that shows in his words.



Do you recommend this book? If you are a fan of the Dog, by all means, read it. It's a good story. If you're not, you probably won't enjoy it.

Review: Mercy Unbound - Kim Antieau

Title and author of book: Mercy, Unbound - Kim Antieau

Fiction or non-fiction? Genre? Fiction, Young Adult.

What led you to pick up this book? I was browsing the young adult section in the library and it sounded very interesting.

Plot summary:

Mercy O'Connor is becoming an angel.

She can feel her wings sprouting from her shoulder blades. They itch. Sometimes she even hears them rustling.

And angels don't need to eat. So Mercy has decided she doesn't need to either. She is not sick, doesn't suffer from anorexia, is not trying to kill herself. She is an angel, and angels simply don't need food.

When her parents send her to an eating disorder clinic, Mercy is scared and confused. She isn't like the other girls who are so obviously sick. If people could just see her wings, they would know. But her wings don't come and Mercy begins to have doubts. What if she isn't really an angel? What if she's just a girl? What if she is killing herself? Can she stop?

What did you like most about the book? I really liked Mercy, the main character. Instead of coming off as simply crazy or stupid, she was a really engaging character. I also like the suspense of it - I couldn't wait to find out if she was just imagining the wings or if it was really happening.

What did you like least? The story turned a little ... mystical, maybe, is the right word? ... toward the end and didn't read as smoothly. It didn't really match the beginning of the story.

What did you think of the writing style? It was a very quick, and extremely interesting read, for the most part.

Have you read any other books by this author? No, I haven't, but I'd like to.

What did you think of the ending? It wasn't what I expected.

Do you recommend this book? If you use a rating system, what’s your rating? I would recommend it, absolutely.

Review - Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women (Elizabeth Wurtzel)

Plot Summary: The author of the bestselling Prozac Nation presents a fascinating tract on the history of female behavior and how it has been interpreted and misinterpreted.

My thoughts: I found this book very interesting. It's a little outdated at this point because it was published in 1998, so she references headline news of that time period, like Amy Fisher and Nicole Brown Simpson - both of whom have entire chapters devoted to them.

Wurtzel takes on the idea of women and how the world views them as opposed to how it views men. I found most of her writing interesting but not particularly insightful or shocking. It's not news to me that women are generally paid less than men. It's not news to me that the public views a mother's role differently they they do a father's role. But it was still an interesting read.

The one thing that really bothered me about the book was that Wurtzel basically let Amy Fisher off the hook for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco. She goes on and on about how Amy was only seventeen years old at the time she met Joey and was a young, impressionable girl only looking for love and was just happy to have found someone who would pay attention to her. Granted, he did coerce into a life of prostitution and talked her into shooting Mary Jo but Amy was the one who picked up the gun and was one old enough to know that a bullet into someone's head could possibly cause some damage, possibly even death. Amy does deserve a little leeway because of the situations she was put into by Joey but Wurtzel gives her a little too much slack. In my opinion, at least.

Other than that mild faux pas, it's a very good, fast-paced, captivating read - although I wish I had read it when I was younger and could actually learn something from it.