Read Rage

It's clear that I have trouble remembering to post on Mondays. What can I say? I have the Monday blues.

I write horror stories for reasons I can’t fathom, but I don’t read horror as much as I should, so I decided to pick up this debut novel, Heart-Shaped Box, because of all the buzz it got when it was published. Plus, I have a thing about ghosts. This novel scared the crap out of me. It follows an aging rock star, Judas Coyne, after he buys a suit on the Internet that is supposedly haunted and finds out that he’s made a deadly mistake — he was set-up to buy the suit by an angry woman who blames him for her sister’s death, and now he has the also angry ghost of her step-father to contend with. This book has everything — characters with heart and believable, complicated motivations; well-crafted scares, some subtle and chilling, some shocking and pulse-pounding; surprising revelations (everything you thought you knew about the homicidal ghost, the dead girl, and Jude are all turned upside-down but are still completely believable); and an excellent, bittersweet ending. This becomes a psychological horror story, as all of the characters are haunted by their pasts; as Hill shows us, this haunting is the most damaging and the hardest kind to dispel.

What I didn't know until months after I read this, is that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son, Joseph Hillstrom King; he used an abbreviated form of his real name to make it as an author on his own merits instead of on the coat-tails of his father. And I think he's done a fine job being scary on his own.

We don't have this in the Lakeside library, but it should be available in any public library. I wanted to do some horror posts for Halloween, and I'm limiting my reviews to books I've actually read, so . . . I say definitely run to the public library and check this one out.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, the book that every GLBTQ high school student was waiting for! This resource, written by the college-savvy Princeton Review, covers just about everything you'd need to know to pick a GLBTQ-friendly university, make friends, find a support network, handle being GLBTQ in the residence halls, and deal with less-than-supportive people on campus. It also covers larger issues, like staying healthy and safe, what to do during your out-of-school vacations, and making the transition into the "real" world. Finally, there are several appendices covering GLBTQ scholarships, financial resources, academic resources, support networks, and career resources.The resource has several interviews and tips from GLBTQ students and student leaders from everything to finding dates to finding ways to speak out politically or socially. What it doesn't have is a list of safe schools, but then, you now have all the details to evaluate schools yourself. This is an excellent and very readable guide for an often-overlooked part of the student body.

Right now, this book is available on our new books cart, but when it is shelved, the call number is 378.1 B142G.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Along with all of our new books, we also got two new anime DVDs (well, one is a DVD, and one is a DVD set). If you don't know what anime is, it's Japanese for animation/cartoon. However, anime is often not what we think of as cartoons--anime covers all genres, from science fiction to documentary-style stories, and it also has a range of styles. Almost everyone knows the "typical" anime, with characters with oversized eyes, but anime has come a long way from that stereotype. You'll see this if you watch either of our two new shows -- Spirited Away, a Miyazaki movie, or Samurai 7, an anime adaptation of Kurosawa's movie, The Seven Samurai. (By the way, we also have this in the library.)

In Spirited Away, Chihiro, a young girl, must grow up from being a rather spoiled brat to a strong heroine. Her and her parents move to a new town, and they are accidentally drawn into a strange new world of spirits. This place turns out to be a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. Her parents, not understanding the rules of this unusual place, and not caring, either, stuff themselves with food that isn't theirs and are turned into pigs and taken away. Chihiro, determined to get them back, must find a way to infiltrate this spirit society -- to that end, she convinces a mean old witch Yubaba to give her a job while she searches for them. This is another brilliant Miyazaki movie, full of adventure, warmth, humor, and suspense.

Samurai 7 borrows the premise of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954): driven to desperation by bandits who steal their crops, the inhabitants of a small village hire unemployed samurai to defend them. With nothing to offer as wages but their precious rice, the villagers recruit warriors poor enough to accept the dishonor of working for peasants. Samurai 7 moves the story into the future: the bandits and some of the samurai are mecha. The grim ronin Kambei leads the viewers in the defense of their village, then tackles the forces of the orchidaceous emperor Ukyo. The warriors perform gravity-defying leaps, as they slash through steel plating, deflect bullets, and split laser beams with their swords in a climactic battle that occupies most of the last three episodes. [This section was taken by Amazon.com, because they wrote a summary better than I could.] Samurai 7 is a set of 26 episodes, so 7 DVDs, but then can be checked out in batches.

Both of these DVDs can be found on the new books cart at the front of the library, after which they will be moved to the DVD section upstairs.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 04:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Because the lights are flickering in the library (darn wind storms!), I am going to make this super brief. Who knows when the power will go out? We have lots of new books in the library, and they are all cataloged and ready to go. Check out the library's recent acquisitions page to see a comprehensive list of titles, and if you see one you want, better hurry and check it out -- we've already checked out several new books to faculty and students.

We have the new Terry Pratchett, Making Money, as well as the new Don DeLillo, Falling Man. We have an excellent guide to manga called (surprisingly enough) Manga: The Complete Guide, and two new sports books about important historical football teams dealing with the Carlisle Indian School, The Real All Americans: The Team that Changed a Game, a People, a Nation, and Carlisle Vs. Army: Jim Thorpe, Dwight Eisenhower, Pop Warner, and the forgotten story of football's greatest battle.

We have lots more than this, but I'm going to sign off now and hope for the best with the weather!

Posted by Krista Hutley at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've recently received a HUGE shipment of new books, and I thought I'd use this space to highlight the ones that I am most interested in. Obviously, you should come check them out for yourself, but here are my top picks for the day.

1. We finally have the first volume of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, His Majesty's Dragon. (We've had the second and third book for quite a while, but who wants to check out the second book without reading the first?) This series is a blend of fantasy and historical fiction -- an alternative history novel that isn't, for once, science fiction. The books take place in Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, and is a fairly realistic account of the life and war tactics of the time, except that the air force flies dragons -- sentient, intelligent dragons who bond with their human riders -- instead of airplanes into battle. The books follow Capt. Will Laurence and his dragon Temeraire as they enter the British Aerial Core together and subsequently become a decisive pairing for Britain's victory or defeat.

2. We finally have the last two Harry Potter novels, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. If you've already finished the series (like I have), you can read them again; if you're still waiting for those last two to show up in the library, well, here they are.

3. We have Khaled Hosseini's new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. I have not read this yet, so here is an excerpt from the book jacket that will tell you what it's about: "a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years--from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding--that puts the violence, fear, hope, and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives . . . are inextricable from the history playing out around them."

Tomorrow, I will feature a few more new books. All of these books should be available to check out by Monday or Tuesday.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You'd think another vampire love story wouldn't make such a splash, but Twilight is one of those books that became an instant teen favorite. Seventeen-year-old Bella moves in with her dad in Forks, WA, where she meets Edward Cullen, a mysterious, distant, and of course gorgeous senior, at school. Though he is a vampire, his clan only hunts wildlife, not humans, so Bella feels free to fall in love with him, and he with her. Ttheir romance isn't without complications, however. Edward is still a predator, and Bella would still be helpless if he lost control of himself and attacked her. Furthermore, another clan has infiltrated Cullen territory -- one that doesn't have Edward's scruples -- and they are also interested in Bella.

Full of heart-pounding suspense and heart-warming romance, this book is a quick, fascinating read about star-crossed lovers trying to stay together and survive the dangers around them. We have it in the fiction section, under F Meyer. We also have the two sequels to this book, New Moon, and Eclipse -- they are both new books in the library.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 09:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One day, seventeen-year-old Light Yagami finds a strange notebook dropped outside his school, and when he picks it up, he realizes that it's a Death Note, a notebook that shinigami (death gods) use to kill people whose time has come. Light reads the instructions and learns that to kill someone, all he has to do is write the name of the person in the notebook while thinking of their face -- and forty seconds later they will die of a heart-attack. If he wants to make them die a different way -- hit by a car, for example -- he must write the manner of death next to the name, and it will happen. At first a little bit intimidated by this power, Light eventually begins to write names of criminals in the notebook. He decides he will use the Death Note to rid the world of evil people and set himself up as lord and reign over a new, better world. Meanwhile, the shinigami Ryuk, who dropped the notebook on purpose, settles in to watch a very entertaining show.

However much these criminals deserve death, the authorities realize the someone is murdering them and set about trying to find out who and how. They hire a legendary detective, known only as "L", to track down this killer, who the media has dubbed "Kira". Light quickly realizes that his noble goal won't come off without complications -- will he have to kill the policemen who are after Kira, will he have to kill neighbors or friends or family who find out his secret? Is he willing to go that far?

The cat-and-mouse chase between Light/Kira and "L" is tense and exciting, all the more so because Light, the protagonist of the series, is working in a morally gray zone, where he has the potential to become (and some would argue, already has become) as evil as the people he kills. Obata's art work is also exceptional, with none of the typical manga/anime cartoon style -- the people and settings look realistic, and there are no cutesy expressions, silly antics, or flowery backgrounds.

This is a dark, gritty story with a moral question at its center: is it okay to kill when you're killing bad people, and how do you decide who is bad and who is good? Who is qualified to make those decisions? When do you, in passing judgement on others, become evil yourself?

We have the first three volumes of this excellent manga series in the library's graphic novel section, and we hope to have more eventually.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 04:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In honor of GLBT History Month, here is a review of a funny, sweet, not-angsty-at-all coming out novel. I originally wrote this for the Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books.

Sixteen-year-old Steven has a shameful secret: he square-dances with his mom -- and he likes it. Oh, and also, he might be gay. He's going to take care of that little problem, however, and with the help of a sorely outdated library book on teenage sexuality, he enacts a plan to become heterosexual: clipping magazine pictures of women, mimicking the hockey team at lunch, snapping himself with a rubber band when he thinks about guys, and, finally, engaging in serial dating. All this gets him is a strained relationship with his best friend, Rachel, and the conviction that there has to be something better than this.

Absolutely, Positively Not is enjoyable in the way a good TV sitcom is enjoyable: while it's safe and a little old-fashioned, it's also light, funny, and warm-hearted, with a cast of quirky yet familiar characters, a series of larger-than-life events, and an immediately likable, sympathetic protagonist. Don't come here looking to delve deep into teenage angst: LaRochelle's impeccable comic timing leads to many hilarious moments, while his sensitivity to the awkward work of developing any kind of sexuality in high school means that Steven's most crushing embarrassments resonate for only a chapter or two before he dusts himself off.

Like any respectable sitcom conclusion, Steven's misguided plans to be straight lead naturally into his, and his parents', tentative acceptance of being gay-and he even gets a (sort of) date! LaRochelle's first book provides a nice counterpoint to less gentle, more tension-filled coming-out stories.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This book about sixteen-year-old Pagan Kidrouk becoming a squire to Lord Roland, a Knights' Templar, is historical fiction at its best -- the story is funny and poignant all in one go. It's 1187, and Jerusalem, held by Christians, faces the approach of Saladin and his Muslim army. Though Pagan is Christian, he is an orphan and half-Arab besides, so he isn't the most well-respected squire, and he's already had a hard life by the time he gets to the Knights. He gets into trouble a lot because of his smart mouth (Pagan is very cynical and doesn't really believe in the mission of the Knights, because he doesn't believe people are good), but his more modern sense of humor will endear him to readers. Pagan at first mocks Lord Roland, who is so goody-goody that he is practically a saint, but the knight eventually wins Pagan over, and the strength of their relationship -- at first knight and squire, and then as friends -- is one of the book's most compelling parts.

There's also plenty of war for those of you who prefer action. Their first mission together is to escort a group of pilgrims to the River Jordan and back, protecting them from infidels and bandits. By the time they return, Saladin has taken one of the nearby cities and is moving in on Jerusalem itself, and Roland and Pagan end up playing a large role in the conflict. Through Pagan's eyes, you see how the Muslims and Christians are not all that different from each other as people -- both have committed atrocities in the name of their religion, and both are trying to protect what they believe in.

Pagan's Crusade is a quick read, but it's thoughtful, intense, and best of all, funny. I typically hate historical fiction, finding it either dull or didactic or predictable, but this one kept me interested all the way through. There isn't a ton of fiction about this time period either, so it's interesting in that respect as well. This is also the first of a four-book series, with Pagan in Exile, Pagan's Vows, and Pagan's Scribe following. Definitely check it out if you're looking for a fun, smart read that won't take you long to read, but will make you think long after you've finished. We have it in Pigott Library with the uncatalogued books on the second floor.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Your parents -- sometimes they bore you, annoy you, or frustrate you, but you love them and you know they love you. They encourage you to eat right, do your homework, be kind to others -- all the usual stuff. But what if you found out that your parents are actually super-villains in disguise, and that they and the parents of your friends are all members of a secret evil organization called The Pride? What if you accidentally witnessed them sacrificing a young woman in some bizarre ritual? What would you do?

This is what happens to the six teens in the graphic novel series Runaways. And what do they do? They runaway from home, during which they discover powers of their own, descended from the very parents they now vow to fight. The group finds their own secret lair and sets about upsetting their parents' plan, first by going to the police (who are in on it, of course), and then by more desperate measures--becoming super-heroes themselves.

In the first three volumes, the teens discover more about The Pride and their parents' evil deeds, confront their own homesickness, meet strangers both helpful and dangerous, and find out one of their own is a mole! Will they defeat their parents, and if they do, what happens next?

We have the first three volumes of this very funny, smart, action-packed, super-powered story in the library in the Graphic Novel section on the first floor, with more volumes to come!

Posted by Krista Hutley at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wrote a review for Booklist for Strays, this funny teen drama, several months ago, but we recently got this book in the library so I thought I would post my review here. The book is currently on display on the shelves behind the circulation desk, but when shelved it will be with the fiction, call number F Koertge.

"Sixteen-year-old Ted prefers animals to humans; animals “never lie,” and unlike the kids at school, he understands them. When Ted loses his parents in a car accident, he particularly identifies with strays—after all, as a foster kid, that’s what he is. Ted lands in a new home, where his basic needs are met by fair but semi-dysfunctional foster parents and where he coexists with Astin, his older roommate, and C. W., who has had 19 placements in six years. Ted also starts a new school, and with Astin and C. W. at his back, he learns to express himself and to rely upon people as well as animals. Ted’s two-way conversations with animals may initially surprise readers, but this magic realism effectively emphasizes his emotional withdrawal, and his outsider’s observations of human nature are by turns insightful, devastatingly funny, and suffused with loneliness. Though Koertge never soft pedals the horrors experienced by some foster children, this thoughtful novel about the lost and abandoned is a hopeful one, in which some strays find a place to belong."

Posted by Krista Hutley at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Firestorm tells the story of Jack Danielson, a normal high school senior--or so he thinks. He's starting running back on the football team, gets decent grades, and has a beautiful and talented girlfriend, P.J. The night his life goes from normal to dangerously weird, Jack breaks his school's rushing record (340 yards) and appears on the local news; he's everyone's hero, yet when he gets home, his parents are angry. Jack’s parents have told him to blend in--to stay quiet in class, to not do too well at sports--and now that he's appeared on the news, his life is in danger. Before Jack can even understand what's going on, his father has hustled him into a car to escape. Jack learns that his parents aren't really his parents, he has supernatural enemies who are out to kill him, and he's the only one with the power to avert a worldwide ecological disaster that happens sometime in the future. Jack is sent to find a mysterious power source called the Firestorm, and he's joined by Eko, a girl from the future who trains him by kicking his butt with her ninja skills, and Gisco, an enormous dog who just happens to be able to communicate with Jack telepathically. (He's also quite the smarta**.)

This eco-fantasy is the first in a series called the Caretaker Trilogy. It's packed with high-intensity thrills, and it conveys how easily ignorance can cause environmental atrocities; because of our actions in the present, we unwittingly destroy our future. Some of the scenes of ecological disaster are downright chilling, yet they never come across as preachy or cheesy. Jack comes off as a regular guy, right down to his awkward sexual impulses (and he has many): he loves sports, girls, and can't imagine how somebody like him is going to save the world. Jack’s surprising fate at the end of the first volume will leave readers waiting eagerly for the second installment, Whirlwind, that comes out March 2008.

This book is currently on display on the shelves behind the circulation desk on the first floor; after that, it will be in the fiction section, call number F Klass.

Posted by Krista Hutley at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)