Shelf Candy Saturday (3)

I'm mixing it up a little on this Shelf Candy. In finding book covers by going through Google it never fails to amaze me that a book can have an attractive cover at one point, be it hard cover or paperback or in a foreign language publication, but then have what I consider an either hideous one or at least lackluster one in the other forms of publication. I understand sometimes the hardcover jacket lends itself to more artistic or fancier covers (as well as probably the price), but considering we all DO judge a book by its cover to at least pick it up (trust me, there are some books I'm embarrassed to be caught reading because of how unattractive the cover is) it seems like someone would sit down and say "huh, this one cover just isn't that pretty compared to the others".

I'm using Airman by Eoin Colfer as my example today. Don't get me wrong, the US cover isn't all that bad. In fact it's probably a pretty good YA steampunk cover. Looks a little like the Rocketeer. Nothing wrong with that. But then I saw the Spanish language cover and was far more impressed by it. It's not just a steampunk cover, it's an artistic one.



Thoughts?

Footfree and Fancyloose by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain

Sophie, Becca, Harper and Kate have all graduated high school and are looking to fulfill their Year of Dreams as they all head off into the real world. Sophie dreams of becoming a famous actress and heads to California. Kate finds herself digging wells in Africa and butting heads with one of the group leaders who assumes she's a spoiled rich girl. Becca finds her relationship with her boyfriend on rocky ground as her home life is turned upside down. Harper is trying to write the Great American novel, but finds herself still dwelling on her almost relationship with her English teacher. The girls all suddenly realize maybe their dreams weren't quite what they thought they were and maybe things they thought they wanted aren't what they need.

Genre: contemporary

Rating: 2/5

This book frustrated me. It was highly readable and I wanted to know what happened to the characters, mainly because I HATED them all so much. They progressively made stupider and stupider choices, acted ridiculous, acted bitchy, used guys and allowed themselves to be used by guys and ultimately didn't seem to learn much. Sophie is vain and shallow and only earns a slight pass as a character as she begins to realize that her behavior IS shallow. She makes assumptions about her fairly nice roommate Sam and refuses to admit she likes him. Harper gets into a messy "friends with benefits" situation with one of her friends and realizes too late that she actually doesn't have the feelings she thought she did about her English teacher. The very fact that this relationship is even presented as acceptable is baffling to me. There is no "this is wrong" presented about her relationship with him. She's presented as being dishonest with her feelings about her best guy friend and goes into a family tailspin when her father breaks some bones. For the way the family acts about her father's situation I thought it would be MUCH more traumatic than someone falling off a roof and being in traction for a while. Then there's Becca, the most annoying of the characters. She ditches her friends in favor of her boyfriend and becomes one of those obnoxious characters who has no identity outside of him, calling him constantly and talking about nothing but him. She eventually freaks out and does something that majorly hurts him a SECOND time as she had hurt him before and is generally just irrational when it comes to him. Kate is the only character I actually really liked and she was made intolerable by choosing a guy who was so vile I kept hoping he'd get killed off. Darby is arrogant, makes assumptions about Kate, treats her like she can't do anything, insults her, yet she still finds herself attracted to him and ends up kissing him because they're angry at each other. No girl with any sense would be attracted to someone as unpleasant as Darby. This was one of the first books I've ever finished reading because I wanted all the worst for some of the characters.

The Secret Life of Josephine by Carolly Erickson

Raised in the Caribbean and forced into a marriage that brings her only unhappiness, Josephine cuts a unique and striking figure in Paris. Managing to survive the French Revolution in spite of coming terribly close to being killed, she, known as Yeyette to her family, makes conquests of men and uses her mercenary talents to be a supplier of goods to the military. Earning the attention of a military man on the rise in Napoleon Bonaparte, she reluctantly agrees to marry him to provide her children with benefits and herself with security. After having other lovers, Yeyette finds that she's earned Napoleon's wrath and becomes the target of his cruelty.

Genre: historical

Rating: 3/5

I preface this by saying I read and liked other work by Erickson. Her novels are engaging. That being said I just didn't like this one. I think the largest problem I had was that too many historical liberties were taken and some of the characters were extremely one note. Much of the book is well researched, but for narrative sake, characters and romances were added and perhaps the biggest problem for me was that Napoleon became a one note villain. I'm not saying Napoleon was any sort of saint and that he was an excellent husband, but I am saying that I'm aware enough of the history to know that Napoleon and Josephine remained friends even after he divorced her. Yes, his attitude toward her changed after he found out she was unfaithful, but from what I've read her attitude towards him changed into appreciating him afterwards even though he was now unfaithful. In this book he's set up as a villain that Josephine is trying to overthrow more than anything else. I was aware that liberties were taken with some of Erickson's other novels, but it just felt like way too much here. There came a point that while it was a well written book, there was just too much glaringly not historically accurate that it became distracting to me.

Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil & Kaja Foglio

In a Europe ruled by Sparks, mad scientists who terrorize the population with bizarre inventions, a pretty lab worker named Agatha Clay seems destined to spend her career doing lowly jobs as every invention she tries to make doesn't work. Things get strange though when ruthless Baron Klaus Wolfenbach takes over the town and Agatha finds herself a prisoner on his massive airship and working with students and the beguiling Gilgamesh Wolfenbach. But suddenly it becomes apparent that Agatha has more than a little Spark of her own and when faced with danger she shows she might just have the mentality of the dime novel legendary heroes who have long disappeared from the world.

Genre: fantasy, steampunk

Rating: 4/5

I honestly haven't read a huge amount of pure steampunk. I've read and liked Leviathan and Worldshaker, but I'm not a devotee of the genre. This was a nice little throwback to the penny adventure novels and radio serials that involve scientific adventure. There's a bit of tongue in cheek about the book too. It's aware of what it is and doesn't take itself seriously. Agatha keeps ending up in front of people in her underwear to her embarrassment because she sleepwalks. Baron Klaus is an evil genius who keeps getting interrupted from his torture. Othar is a swashbuckling hero who is REALLY annoying and not very bright. Gil is supposed to be a bad guy but he's not quite sure he wants that yet. It took a little while to keep straight all the names and the worlds, which is the only reason I marked it down. The book plunges right in from the beginning and in the first chapter or two it was a struggle to keep up, especially with all the technology being thrown around too. The Jagermonsters also talk in a strange German accent that takes a little while to figure out, but they're actually the funniest characters in the book. There's also a delightful talking cat who's smarter than the rest of the people in the book. The story wasn't deep, but it was fun and anyone who likes steampunk would probably enjoy it.

Quote:
"Fiends!" roared Othar. "Kill her and I'll tell the Baron!"

"Vell mebbe ve keel you too, schmot guy."

The other Jagermonster began to look troubled. "Gorb..."

"Vat?"

"Gorb, dis iz turnink into von of dose plenz...The kind vere ve keel efferbody dot notices dot ve's keelink pipple?"

Gorb deflated slightly. "It is?"

The other Jager nodded and slung a friendly paw over Gorb's shoulders. "Uh-huh. Und how do dose alvays end?"

Gorb muttered, "The dirigible is in flames, everybody's dead, an' I've lost my hat."

Shelf Candy Saturday (2)

Last week I chose an old school looking cover for a steampunk novel. This week I'm going for something more minimalistic. And violent. And perfect for the novel.



Hater is for all intents and purposes, a zombie novel without being one. The world has been rocked by a strange phenomenon that causes some people to spontaneously violently attack people. There is no respect for age, race or gender and suddenly the world is plunged into fear over who will succumb next. People are afraid to go to work, leave their homes and realize that any moment could be their last. Soon the accepted thinking of the day becomes "attack first, ask questions later". The world has literally gone insane and is plunged into chaos. This cover is perfect to me. Simple. Striking. Nothing but blood splatter with finger painted letters. This would catch my eye on the shelf by its stark, brutal simplicity. Not a pretty cover by any means, but I love it.

The Poker Diaries by Liza Conrad

Lulu has the best of both worlds. Her mother is uptown New York society and her father is a downtown gambler. Lulu is a poker prodigy herself and despite both her parents' reservations, she enjoys back room games at her grandfathers. Things only get really complicated when one of her uptown friends loses to some shady poker players and Lulu is forced to become involved in a high stakes poker game. Not only does her lying threaten her relationship with her parents and her downtown boyfriend, but being involved with illegal poker puts her at risk of ruining the campaign of her mother's new boyfriend, the mayor of New York.

Genre: contemporary

Rating: 4/5

Fast, cute little read about the world of poker. Lulu is a tough, no nonsense New York girl who doesn't understand why her parents have a problem with her choices of enjoying the less fancy side of her life. She particularly takes offense that they judge her sweet, but rough around the edges boyfriend as someone not good for her. This would be a good book for reluctant readers as the action is fast paced and the book very short. It was nice to see a blended family where everyone got along and a feisty girl who tries to solve her own problems.

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Penny has had it with high school guys. After having her heart broken by the guy she thought was her ideal, she decides to swear off dating in high school. Soon she's joined by a few friends who have also had their bad experiences with guys and the form The Lonely Hearts Club, a group that feels like they don't need boys in high school. Before Penny knows it, the club is making a splash at school and having some unexpected results and unexpected consequences. Faced with an increasingly annoyed male population and Penny fighting a crush of her own, Penny and her friends join together to support each other and maybe approve of a boy now and then anyway.

Genre: romance, contemporary

Rating: 4/5

I liked this book. It was cute and Penny intelligent and laid back. I enjoyed the fact that one of her friends initially started out in the "annoying perfect girl" stereotype, but turned out to be a major character who is actually genuinely sweet and apologetic about ditching Penny back when she originally got a boyfriend. Girls are portrayed in a mostly positive light (with the exception of a few stereotypical mean girls) and girl friendships are celebrated. The book only gets marked down on two counts: first off, Penny's parents' obsession with the Beatles seemed a bit fake and like it was a gimmick to use in the book more than anything else. The second issue was one where Penny finding happiness with a boy sort of undermined some of the message to me. Yes the group is still supportive and refuses to allow members to become girlfriends who are consumed by their boyfriends to the point of having no life, but the main character spending most of the book stressing about whether she should be with a guy or not (granted a nice guy) sort of derails the message that girls shouldn't worry about boys. It just sort of seemed like it was at cross purposes. The book is charming though and works as a nice little romance too, and definitely has a positive message of girls being themselves whether they have boyfriends or not. So, girl power with a slightly mixed message.