December 8, 2012

November Reads Part 1...

Occasionally I will post book reviews of things I have read.  This of course won't be everything I have read, but some of the highlights.  Enjoy concise, meandering summaries of some YA good reads...

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
This book starts with a bang as Charlie is pulled out of bed in the middle of the night by Jasper Jones.  Jones is the town bad boy, always blamed for anything the town deems as juvenile delinquency.  This time Jasper is in serious trouble.  He brings Charlie to a secret spot, where he sees something so hideous, so terrifying it changes him forever.  This book is equal parts thrilling, mysterious, funny, and touching as Charlie finds that truth is harder to take when it's surrounded in lies.

Why I gave it
4 stars=too much cricket.  This is such an American thing to say, but I have never watched and do not understand a thing about cricket.  So instead of completely negating the beauty of this book about a boy caught in a hideous string of events, I just skipped over the cricket pieces.  Well until the best friend made a legendary debut.

4 stars=the banter was lengthy.  I loved and laughed out loud during the banter between the main character, Charles, and his wonderful side kick, Jeffrey.  Yet at some points I thought it went long.

4 stars=everything was so packed together.  Can all of this shit happen within such a short amount of time?  The boyfriend gets there minutes too late, the sister...the mother...the estranged grandfather...the racists...the garden, etc.  That's one hell of a month.

Yet this book is a raw, page turning beauty that I did not put down until I had figured out what happened to Laura.  This could be an amazing movie.

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