Eternal

I have been eagerly anticipating the book I knew would follow Tantalize without being its sequel. I was so thrilled on Thursday the 12th when I learned it’d just come out finally! I ran out and got it and it was my Spring Break reading. I loved it! I thought it was better than Tantalize. I was more attached to these characters- and in love with Zachary, the fallen guardian angel of Miranda, a girl just turned into a vampire. He's trying to save her soul but he loves her and at times that conflicts him. Don't be misled though, it's a dark story that highlights the battle between good and evil. Vampirism isn't romanticized here. Think of how centuries of rich selfish bestial beings have developed a society where they are in control of vast resources. Zachary's been given the task of trying to make a dent in their cruelty.
When I read Tantalize, it seemed as if I missed things. Especially at the end- it really took me by surprise. And what a cliffhanger! I did notice that at times with Eternal, it was like things were happening in between chapters that didn't get put in the book. But much less than in Tantalize and it was more understandable considering the alternating narrators. I did wonder if maybe the publisher made the author cut out some of the writing. The ending is satisfactory in my opinion, as opposed to that of Tantalize. Some readers may not agree with me! I will be avidly awaiting the third book in the universe!

New Graphic Novels

P.L.A.I.N. Janes and Janes in Love
Looking for a new kind of she-ro? Meet Jane, an ex-New Yorker living in suburbia after a homemade bomb hospitalizes her. A fellow victim helps her recuperate as he lays unconscious in the bed next to hers. After the explosion, she finds his journal titled Art Saves and grabs it for him. She hangs onto that concept as a lifeline and uses it to begin anew. As she goes to a new school full of strangers, she seeks out quiet beauty and shy students to befriend. Periodically she writes her John Doe, still in the hospital, and confesses her depressing thoughts to him. Her new friends were seemingly waiting for her to come and give them purpose. They all ate lunch together, silently, and were all named Jane. MainJane brings them all together with her plan to bring art to their boring neighborhood. Thus, People Loving Art In Neighborhoods is born. Unfortunately many see their work as vandalism. The girls must work harder and more secretly to continue their work. In the 2nd volume, they make new allies and learn a lot of lessons about love.
Maximum Ride
Well, for any of you who know my opinion of the novel Maximum Ride, you'll probably be happy to know that I am much more positive about the way the graphic novel turned out. The artist (NaRae Lee) is a Korean girl who is a university student if I'm not mistaken. To be so talented at such a young age... The main criticism I have for the graphic version is that it ends at p. 197 of the novel. That's not even halfway through the book. But I must admit, it's a fairly good place to break if you ignore the fact that the subtitle is The Angel Experiment and Angel is still inexplicably in captivity. My other criticism is that Max is blonde according to this artist. Well, there's a couple of other minor things along these lines: the way their wings disappear without the aid of large jackets, Nudge's lip color, the Erasers' appearance of inhumanity (after all, they're hybrids too). Besides all that, readers will likely enjoy the graphic novel whether or not they've read the book. It sticks very closely to the plotline of the novel, but readers must beware of going from the graphic novel to the second book of the prose series!!
In Odd We Trust
This book is another adaptation of a story from its novel. This one by adult author Dean Koontz. I don't think this series will appeal as much to young adult readers because the protagonist is 20. He "sees ghosts" which makes me wonder if the author wrote it after the movie "The Sixth Sense", but I didn't research to find out. Honestly, if you want a story of a mediator for teens, I'd suggest Cabot's Mediator series, but since this one is a graphic novel, I guess there's reason it may appeal to different readers. It's a bit hard to draw ghosts possibly, because the illustrator did not distinguish them from the other characters. It actually takes a while to see that some are indeed only viewed by the main character, Odd. I must digress here a minute to discuss the art. Oddly enough, the artist, Queenie Chan, did her own graphic novel series about ghosts-the Dreaming. I wasn't particularly enthralled with it either. I just don't like her faces, for one. That story also had a tendency to drag but have cliffhanger endings. Nonetheless, I was shocked when I recognized the style of the faces and hair in Koontz's book and found out it was the same artist. I think for this title, they shouldn't have ventured into the graphic arena. But that's just me!

Why I love Scott Westerfeld

One of the coolest books I've read in a while is by one of my fave authors- Texan Scott Westerfeld. He so rocks. His book So Yesterday is about how things become popular. Well, actually, it's about a girl who goes missing and what happened to her in the world of Trendsetting New York. I was enthralled. Westerfeld works in so much into his novels- history, science... To think this book was copyrighted 2004 but was so technologically spot-on. Are we that behind in Texas? Or is it just me? The things I think of particularly here the celphone capabilities and power of blogging. I've absolutely got to quote my favorite part. It's the English teacher in me. The main character, Hunter, is being sought to join a group of trendsetting kids who are frustrated with the lack of capitalization in our society. I love this idea! Read on:
“One more word about cranks: An Innovator friend of Lexa’s had this theory that uppercase was coming back in. That all the Webby kids who’d never hit the shift key in their lives (except to type an @ sign) were about to start putting capitals at the beginning of their sentences, maybe even the first letter of their names and other proper nouns. Lexa didn’t really believe this seismic shift was imminent, but she desperately wanted it to be. Typographical laziness was slowly destroying our culture, according to Lexa and her pals. Inexactitude was death.
“I wasn’t clear on the details of her theory. But the concept behind SHIFT was that if enough Trendsetters started using capital letters in their e-mails and posts, maybe the herd would follow.
“’You haven’t joined up, have you?’
“I cleared my throat. ‘I’m sort of agnostic on the whole SHIFT agenda.’
“‘Agnostic? You mean you aren’t sure if capital letters exist?’ Lexa could be literal minded at times.
“’No, I believe in them. I’ve actually seen a few. But as far as the need for a movement goes—‘”...
p. 50-51
He cracks me up. So true, so true my friend. And does Hunter get the girl in the end? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, to tell or not to tell? The power I wield. It does go to my head. I think I'll make you read the book to find out. We need the circulation stats.

What I Read Over Christmas Break by Cindi Rockett

Guess what I did over Christmas break? Read, of course! I made my way through many a book and I’ll give you a quick briefing in case you’re interested.
Blood relatives 2- A take off of the Vampire Kisses in graphic novel format. I reviewed the first one about this time last year. What I really like about this is that the graphic novel is a separate story. You needn’t have read the novels. Having only read the first novel, I can’t really tell you where in the big picture the two separate plotlines are in relation to each other. Well, Alexander and Raven are dating in the graphic novels- that part I do know! In #2, Raven is trying to help her boyfriend rid Dullsville of his half-vampire cousin. In order to do this, the two plot a fake map that will take him back to Transylvania, but the plot fails. Entertaining.
Ouran High School Host Club 2- I realized why I love this series. It’s like a sitcom. It’s not about the story. In fact, each chapter is a separate episode. It’s about the characters. And it’s definitely comedic in nature, unlike the graphic novels I’ve been reading which fall into romance or horror. So, in this installment, the twins have a (staged) fight, a young newcomer seeks their help wooing one particular girl, and the group go for an outing to an underground water park, where Hunny goes missing but proves he inherited the martial arts skills of his family. Lots of good fun. Now I left out clean but only because the FRONT MATTER in the book indicates that one of the twins is a “handsome homosexual l+ forbidden love between relatives”. Yeah, they are a little close and make comments about each other, but it could be staged for the girls just like the fight was staged. Nothing major- at least not in this volume.
Miki Falls- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Unique story. Well, sort of. I mean the complicated journey of love isn’t unusual- at first. But Hiro’s secret is a new one- he’s a keeper of the spark of love as it dies from one couple and is held until it can be given to a new one. The main conflict is that his superior believes that being in love prevents one from doing their job. The lengths the two of them go to in an effort to escape punishment- and separation- rival the forbidden love story of Romeo and Juliet- almost. The reader is really kept on the edge throughout all four volumes and will be surprised by the ending. Unless you can guess it.
Queen B -This is a story that I am not sure our community could relate to. Every other paragraph talked about the people of the upper crust. The protagonist’s term for a member of this group is a soc. Personally, I found it obnoxious to read about a girl so obsessed with a person’s place in high school social strata. Perhaps middle school girls relate more than me. If they can get past the extravagant wealth of some of the families living in this town. It’s something you don’t see much of in Irving. Cassie keeps talking about how she does not want to be Queen B but a queen bee. Her jealousy almost costs her the love of her boyfriend. I kept getting the feeling that there’s another story before this one, but I haven’t read it…
Evil Genius - If you were a fan of the Mysterious Benedict Society, this might be a good read for you. Both deal with extremely smart young people. Cadel is so bored at school he is bounced around from one to another until he ends up at one that will graduate him at the age of 14. During this time he gets into a bit of trouble using computers and is ordered, as a minor, to see a psychologist on a regular basis. Dr. Roth, his therapist, plays a big part in his life and in getting him enrolled in an institute of higher education known as the Axis Institute. Here he learns many things: forgery, hacking, the art of disguise, the nature of evil, and the importance of accounting, as well as the identity of his father, according to Dr. Roth. He’s the son of an criminal mastermind in jail. Behind the scenes, Dr. Darkkon, his father, runs things and has set up the Institute solely for the purpose of educating his son to take over his criminal empire. But he and Dr. Roth did not count on Cadel inventing his own computer dating service (as a scam) which would put him in contact with a parapalegic who would save his life. Hard to believe? Wonder what the sequel holds!

The sequel to The Diary of Pelly D

What do you think is the difference between these two lands? Cherry Heaven is across the ocean, a part of the New Frontier, where the violence of the Five Cities that escalated into race wars is someone else's problem. But at what cost have they managed to evade discrimination? The New Frontier is seen through the eyes of Kat J and her sister, Tanka, as they arrive at Cherry Heaven for their aunt and uncle's new jobs. It's not as technologically sophisticated as the city they grew up in, but not too bad overall. Colder, yes, but there is also great scenery, good looking boys on the waterball team, and all the frozen cherries left from the previous owner's harvest. The comfortableness of their new lifestyle is brutally contrasted with that of an escaped factory worker. Luka was leading a slave-like existence because of her race, but not anymore. Now she's free to exact revenge on the authority figures who were brutally cruel to her and her co-laborers. It turns out that "peace" and "comfort" in the New Frontier is something obtained on the backs of slave workers. Luka's path of destructive behavior crosses the path of Kat and Tanka, and things escalate from there. In the end, the deus ex machina is none other than Pelly D's brother! Gim D had gone overseas to work for peace and ended up as a laborer too. And there you have it- full circle.