PaperCuts

It's hard to believe that I haven't been awed by a book since this summer. I don't remember how I discovered this title, but whoever recommended it needs to be thanked a million times over. Despite the lackluster cover, Before I Die is somewhere in the Top 10 young adult books I've ever read.

Warning: if you are sensitive about the subject of death and dying, this book is probably not for you.

What would it be like to stare into the face of death at only 16? After fighting leukemia for four years, Tessa only has a few weeks, maybe months, to live. She decides that rather lie in bed and wait to die that she will make a list of things she wants to see or do before the end. Such things include the usual teenage proclivities of sex, drugs and petty crimes, but also falling in love, getting her parents back together and living long enough to see her best friend's baby born.

Tessa's short life made me think sharply about my own. Am I doing the things I want? What if there really was no possibility of tomorrow? What do I want most out of my life? While she comes to terms with never going to college, getting married, having children, or getting a job, she does manage to do quite a few firsts in her short time left. Although it sounds very "stop and smell the roses," Jenny Downham has crafted a truly inspiring novel that is anything but depressing.

Posted on December 28, 2007 by Meghan at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just kidding! I know you've all read it, but I can't help but put in my two cents here. On the off chance you haven't managed to read it yet, beware of spoilers!

Continue reading "The Best Books You Aren't Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" »

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Meghan at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I’m finding myself in a literary famine. Everything coming out right now has such sameness to it that I might as well just choose one, read it five times in a row and call it good. However, as I plow through my ever-towering pile of “books I’ll someday have time to read,” I’m finding a feast for the imagination in young adult literature.

Laurie Halse Anderson is probably best known for her award winning novel Speak (it even got turned into a not-so-shabby television movie). I loved Speak, bought copies for all the young teens in my life and even pressed it on a few unsuspecting adults who were tired of reading the same old boring stuff I was trying to get away from. When her last book, Prom, came out, I was pretty excited to get my hands on it. However, it didn’t ring true for me (girl who hates everything prom stands for and goes to prom) and I was gravely disappointed. However, her newest YA book Twisted finally gave me some hope. It was another one of those books where I couldn’t put it down, had to find out what happens next RIGHT NOW. No time for silly distractions of eating and sleeping.

Tyler has always been the scrawny punching bag of his school. Tired of being bullied, he decides to do something that will make him infamous—and it sure does, ending up with handcuffs, the back of a police car and a night in jail. With his brand new rap sheet and reputation to match, suddenly everyone knows Tyler—but it’s not quite the attention he was looking for. Yet, when the hottest chick in school, Bethany, starts flirting with him and hanging on his arm, Tyler can’t help but wonder if she’s really interested or just being punked. One night at beer bash gone horribly wrong, Tyler has his chance to find out. However, his decision leads him back down the path to social pariah. A few days pass and some indelicate pictures of his ex Bethany show up on the Internet. The police are back at his doorstep and Tyler has moved beyond infamous; he’s been skyrocketed to notorious.

Continue reading "The Best Books You Aren't Reading: Twisted" »

Posted on June 08, 2007 by Meghan at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s been awhile since I read a book that had me nailed to my seat. Usually when a book gets me this good, all of the household chores get waylaid and dust bunnies accumulate around my feet. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin is so good, I didn’t even want to eat dinner since that would take precious time away from me finding out just what would happen to Lizzie.

Ever wonder if you’ll see your beloved pet again? Do the dead need health insurance? Is it possible to fall in love after you die? If you’re like me and love the show Six Feet Under or you like to contemplate what happens to you after you die, Elsewhere gives a humorous suggestion of what the afterlife might entail without tipping into the macabre.

Continue reading "The Best Books You Aren't Reading: Elsewhere" »

Posted on May 04, 2007 by Meghan at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some loves last a lifetime, while others quickly fade away. Bella and Edward’s love will last for all eternity—that is, if he stops being stubborn for one minute and turns her into a vampire. Torn between his love for her and damning her to a soulless existence, Edward does what he thinks is best; he breaks her heart and vows never to see her again. Without Edward, life has no meaning and she slogs through the days and weeks by trying to maintain some semblance of sanity. It isn’t until her best friend, Jacob Black, comes to her rescue that life seems almost bearable. As Jake falls in love with Bella, she is torn between moving forward towards a “normal” life and betraying her one true love, no matter how he feels about her in return. Of course this new love couldn’t come without strings attached. Jake’s genetic code wakes up what has laid dormant for sixteen years; he’s a werewolf. Now Bella is caught between two warring clans—and everything is far from normal.

Start with the first in Stephenie Meyer’s amazing trilogy, Twilight. With an exciting cliffhanger at the end, I can’t wait for the third one to come out!

Posted on November 19, 2006 by Meghan at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I don’t know how I found this book, or rather, how it found me. Sometimes it’s through random chance; it calls to me from the bookshelf at the local bookstore, I find a review, or another book references an author and I have to check it out. Somehow Little Children landed in my hands and I thank serendipity for bringing it to me. It’s that good.

Sarah and Todd both frequent the same neighborhood park with their small children. Of course it’s odd that such a handsome father would be a stay-at-home dad and the single moms perk up at the sight of him and his little boy each time they hit the swing set. Sarah, married to a much older man and sexual deviant, decides to make the first move and talk to Todd. This leads to a surprising romance that makes it hard for the reader not to root for the couple despite the obvious issue of adultery. Toss in a sexual predator living in a neighborhood full of small children and you have the makings of a great story! Sometimes dubbed as Lad Lit (the male equivalent of Chick Lit), Little Children is anything but.

Tom Perrotta is the author of Election (also a movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick), Joe College, and The Wishbones. Little Children is now a major motion picture starring Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson (note that Wilson’s character is now named “Brad.” Weird.).

Continue reading "The Best Books You Aren't Reading: Little Children" »

Posted on October 13, 2006 by Meghan at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few years back I attended a workshop on Chick Lit. One of the books mentioned was dubbed “widow lit” and thinking that this was the most ridiculous subcategory yet invented, I decided to check it out on pure speculation. How could anyone write something so ridiculous (and possibly offensive)?

They were wrong. So, so wrong. Good Grief by Lolly Winston is a touching story of a woman’s grief over a marriage abruptly ended by cancer. Instead of the usual five stages of grief, Sophie Stanton goes through fifteen including Lust, Oreos, and Waitressing. Funny, sad, and touching, Good Grief is a must read (and it certainly is not Chick Lit).

Other books have followed in a similar vein: P.S., I Love You by Cecelia Ahrens and Finishing Touches by Deanna Kizis. Lolly Winston has also just come out with her second novel, Happiness Sold Separately. Pick up these titles today!

Continue reading "The Best Books You Aren't Reading: Good Grief" »

Posted on October 06, 2006 by Meghan at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

One of the first things I went to at PLA @ Boston this past March was a talk presented by Librarian Action Figure Extraordinaire, Nancy Pearl. She introduced a panel of publishing execs who were all ready with lists upon lists of titles to check out this year. On the top of one list was this book, The Girls by Lori Lansens. In the 30 second recap they had for each title, the only thing I gleaned was that it was “phenomenal” and about conjoined twins. After getting burned once by a not-so-hot conjoined twin novel, I wasn’t so sure this would be my cup of tea. I finally got a copy of it and after reading the first chapter, I was hooked.

Ruby and Rose have one of the rarest forms of conjoinment: they are attached at the head. As the twins approach their 30^th birthday, Rose decides that she needs to write the tale of their lives and convinces Ruby to write her own version. With distinct voices and takes on their shared life, Ruby and Rose detail their own personal journeys towards self-discovery.

Continue reading "The Best Books You Aren't Reading: The Girls" »

Posted on August 07, 2006 by Meghan at 03:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Still waiting for a sequel to As Simple as Snow and frustrated that you can’t get any definitive answers to the book’s unsolvable mysteries? I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any news about when Greg Galloway is coming out with a new book. In the meantime, get your hands on this year’s Michael L. Printz award winning book, Looking for Alaska. In much the same way that As Simple as Snow’s narrator falls hard and fast for the enigmatic Anna Cayne, Miles Halter searches in vain for the secrets that will unlock the mystery of Alaska Young.

About the book:

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words—and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poem Francois Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

Get your copy today and be sure to check out John Green’s blog (his post on discovering that he was the Printz award winner is particularly touching).

Posted on May 05, 2006 by Meghan at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Starting on Monday, May 1^st 2006, Ticket to Read (the Adult Summer Reading program) officially starts! We will be running the program all the way through August 31^st. Here’s how to participate:
 
-         Tickets (or reading logs) require the patron to read or listen to FIVE books/audiobooks. Tickets should be completed with titles, authors and the patron’s contact info.
-         Patrons may fill out as many tickets as they like. The more tickets they fill out and return, the better the chance of winning a prize in our weekly drawings or having a chance at one of three grand prizes to be awarded at the end of the summer.
-         Patrons may turn in tickets to the following locations: Periodicals Reference, New Books desk, Red Carpet desk or any Bookmobile.
-         Tickets will be collected at 4pm every Friday for the weekly drawings. Drawings will start on May 19^th.
-         We will have several programs featured in conjunction with Ticket to Read. Check the web calendar and stay tuned to PaperCuts for more details!

Why bother filling out tickets? Did we not mention FABULOUS PRIZES? Yes! We will be giving away MP3 players in our grand prize drawing, perfect for downloading e-audio titles from Netlibrary and music from OverDrive. Get your ticket today!

Posted on May 01, 2006 by Meghan at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There have now been found up to twenty-nine passages that are similar in the books Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, and How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. Kaavya Viswanathan has released a statement that the copying of Megan McCafferty’s work was “unintentional” and “unconscious.”  She “internalized” the words without realizing it.  The publisher will be changing the wording of future editions of Viswanathan’s book.

Check out the news updates here, here, and here.

Thanks to staffer Michelle for this compelling literary drama!

Posted on April 26, 2006 by at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kaavya Viswanathan, author of the book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life (currently number 32 on the New York Time’s bestseller list), has been accused of plagiarizing Megan McCafferty’s books Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings.

Check out the story here, here, and here.

Also, for a recent review of the book Sloppy Firsts, see our earlier book review on this title.

Posted on April 24, 2006 by at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)