October 29, 2007

Review: Spy Boy

David, Peter (1999). Spy Boy. Milwaukie, OR: Dark Horse. 80 pages.



Summary & Evaluation: Peter David, who shaped a lot of the history of the Hulk during his long run as author for the Incredible Hulk, takes on the story of Alex Fleming, a teenage boy who discovers that his rightful place in life isn't as the wimp who's constantly bullied in the schoolyard but as the superhero known as "Spy Boy." His secret identity was buried beneath his psyche long ago by his father in order to protect him, but the appearance of his arch-enemy Gourmet (a villain who kills his victims in kitchen-related manners) brings Spy Boy out of hiding and into action. Aided by the mysterious and curvaceous Bombshell, Spy Boy defeats Gourmet and his cronies but his victory only leads to more questions about why his identity was hidden from him so long ago.

Spy Boy, in classic comic book fashion, skips the story of teenage angst and goes straight to the butt-kicking. When introducing the wimp formerly known as Spy Boy, the reader watches as Alex Fleming gets treated to a swirly in the bathroom at the hands of the school bully, Schweitzer, who's caught Alex saying "hello" to his girlfriend. After suffering the abuse, Alex daydreams a Jackie Chan-like reaction to the humiliation, where he flattens Schewitzer & his band of flunkies--and I think that this part was really great, where it would speak to a lot of young adults. Unfortunately (or, fortunately, for those who like action & adventure), Peter David doesn't let the story follow these more psychological lines and just lets the story unravel into a Mission Impossible-like tale (but with more of a teenage bent).

Booktalk Hook: I think for something like this I'd start out with a question, like "have you ever felt that your parents were keeping a secret from you? What if knowing that secret meant that you'd be fighting supervillains instead of doing homework?"


October 19, 2007

can i keep 'em?

okay, okay, so I'm bored at work. here's another gem from youtube

My fav-or-ite!

holy cow, it's my favorite Three Amigos bit ever!


October 18, 2007

Review: How I Live Now

Rosoff, Meg (2004). how i live now. New York: Random House. 194 pages.


Summary & Evaluation: Sent to live in the English countryside with her maternal aunt's family because she can't get along with her stepmother, Daisy soon falls in love with her cousin Edmond (the aunt isn't around to stop this--she's stuck in Oslo and never returns home) and lives an idyllic lifestyle in the remote countryside. Soon "the war" sweeps in and divides the family--Daisy with her younger cousin Piper and Edmond with his brother Isaac--forcing them to confront the harsh realities of an occupied England. Eventually they reunite and live their lives together again, but the war has taken its toll and their innocence has been lost.

how i live now is a mix between Mad Max and Lord of the Flies with a little bit of The Blue Lagoon thrown in for a love story. Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but it's the best way I can describe it in under 30 words. There were two things that I really liked about this book: one, that the subjects it deals with were pretty off-the-wall; and, two, it employs a quirky narrative form, using the method of presenting Daisy's diary/confession writing (but she doesn't like to use quotation marks and creates so many run-on sentences that she'd have any writing teacher begging her to stop). All in all, it was just a really enjoyable read that grabbed my attention at the beginning (a chain-smoking, mind-reading cousin who drives on the wrong side of the road? cool . . .) and kept it throughout.

Booktalk Hook: Since a lot of the book's appeal is Daisy's voice, I'd have to read a selection of the book for the booktalk. So I'd read pages 3-4, where Daisy is picked up by Edmond at the airport--a passage that pretty well sets the scene for the rest of the book.

Review: The Beast

Myers, Walter Dean (2003). The Beast. New York: Scholastic. 170 pages.


Summary & Evaluation: Anthony "Spoon" Witherspoon has returned home to Harlem, after having his first semester in a prep school in Connecticut, eager to see his family but, most of all, his girlfriend Gabi. His return isn't as triumphant as he expected it to be, as he finds himself surrounded by friends whom he realizes will never escape the ghetto lifestyle --and he's met with the horrifying reality that Gabi has collapsed under the pressures of keeping her family together and started to use heroin. Torn between the two lives he has--that of prep school, with his new friends and a promising future, and his life in Harlem, which has quickly become alienating now that he's left--Anthony helps Gabi to overcome her addiction while committing himself to his new future.

At times this novel felt a little "light" because the subject matter was pretty dark and lonely (an adored girlfriend now a junkie, all past friends either street thugs or just unfriendly) but the mood didn't follow the subject--all too often Anthony was helped out by his family (they were understanding almost to a fault), his new friends (a girl from prep school that has the hots for Anthony helps find a dress for Gabi to borrow, because she doesn't have one for her mother's funeral), and total strangers (a teenage junkie helps Anthony find Gabi when she's disappeared into a crack house). Sure, life sucks a little for Anthony, but it gets difficult to feel bad for him when one of the biggest problems he has is whether or not he should feel bad for making out with his new prep school girlfriend while Gabi's strung out on junk. At times you just get the feeling that as long as Anthony goes back to prep school everything will be okay--but boy, oh boy, are those people stuck in Harlem in for a tough life.

Booktalk Hook: All its imperfections aside, The Beast is still an example of why Walter Dean Myers is considered an exemplary YA author--he can create a (somewhat) believable scenario, introduce characters that people care about, and do it in a succinct manner, without writing hundreds of pages. So, if I were to booktalk The Beast, I'd begin by asking the question of whether or not anyone had ever left their friends for a couple of months (perhaps while going to camp over the summer?) and returned to find that things have changed. What would happen if you came back to find out that they were addicted to drugs? Well, Walter Dean Myer's The Beast is all about how one person deals with returning home to find his girlfriend hooked on heroin . . . .

October 11, 2007

Review: Notes for a War Story

Gipi (2007). Notes for a War Story. New York: First Second. 123 pages.


Summary & Evaluation: In war-torn Bosnia, Giuliano and his two friends, Christian and Stefano (also called "Little Killer" by his friends) make their way from petty theft, to collecting on debts for a local tough man, to joining a militia. Giuliano doesn't make it as far as his friends, however, as he hangs back while they do all the strong-arming (and, eventually, killing) and ends up deserting the militia shortly after they join. This doesn't come as a big surprise to the reader, however, as Giuliano's privileged background--namely, having parents who have some money--drives the friends apart as time passes.

This graphic novel is published by First Second, the same publishing house that released the acclaimed American Born Chinese and a graphic novel I previously reviewed, Robot Dreams. A relatively new publishing group, First Second is making its presence felt in the realm of graphic novel publishing--something that is certainly felt in this masterfully told Lord of the Flies-type story. Gipi not only examines the effects of war on the impressionable adolescent male mind, but also how the bonds of friendship can easily unravel in the midst of lawlessness.

Booktalk Hook: I'd have to admit that I can't imagine this book being a hard sell--c'mon, you'd just have to mention it was a graphic novel about teenagers participating in the seedy underbelly of war-torn Bosnia, and I think you'd have some takers. But, if I had a selection of other First Second graphic novels, I'd booktalk this one alongside the others, to give the YA pop. an idea of what their offerings are.

October 10, 2007

Review: The Last Universe

Sleator, William (2005). The Last Universe. New York: Amulet. 215 pages.



Summary & Evaluation: Susan's brother, Gary, used to ignore her all the time because he was too busy with sports and friends--but now he's forced to pay attention to her, because she pushes him around in a wheelchair, due to some mysterious illness that Gary's come down with. The illness isn't the only strange thing happening, however, as the haunting and palatial garden in their back yard begins to grow non-native lotuses and poppies overnight, birds appear from lotuses and garden paths lead to areas that they never lead to before--such as the hedge maze that can only be seen from the second story of the house, but the entrance could never be found. When Gary and Susan enter the maze, they realize that quantum physics is to blame for all of the strange happenings in the garden, and that the maze holds the chance that Gary's illness can be cured by finding an alternate universe made possible by quantum physics.

Some of the blurbs on the book's jacket refer to it as "creepy" and a "horror story" but I think this worked better as a sci-fi tale than as a horror story. That's because this book does what a really good sci-fi story should do--namely, involve actual science. The Last Universe uses quantum physics to drive the story's plot, where the teenage duo of brother and sister try to solve the mystery of the garden's maze and cure Gary's mysterious illness. While the book does have some haunting elements to it, such as the creepiness of the garden and the twist at the end (Susan comes back to the original universe to find that Gary has been cured but she now has the mysterious illness), the author works more on describing quantum physics than he does creating an eerie mood. All in all, it was a really fun read, especially for someone who likes more traditional sci-fi (or even quantum physics).

Booktalk Hook: If I were to booktalk this, I'd want to try and hook potential readers by asking them what they'd do if they could get to an alternate reality that was better than their current one, but in order to get there they'd have to run the risk of going to a reality that was worse than their current one. And what if they were dying, and knew it--would that increase the possibility they'd take the risk? Then I'd launch into a quick synopsis of the book.

October 9, 2007

Review: Robot Dreams

Varon, Sarah (2007). Robot Dreams. New York: First Second. 205 pages.


Summary & Evaluation: In this wordless graphic novel, a dog assembles a robot friend (brought to him by the postman in a box) and, after sharing some quality bonding time with him, carelessly allows his new robot friend to take a dip in the ocean during a trip to the beach. After sunning themselves, the dog realizes that his robot friend is rusted to the point of immobility and decides to leave the robot on the beach while he goes back home. The story then follows the two characters: the robot left naked to the elements and the meanness of strangers, ultimately being repaired by a raccoon and given a new lease on life; and the dog drifting from one friendship to the next, finally purchasing a new kit robot and acting more responsible towards it than the last.

This one was a really quick read but had me coming back for a second, and even third, read-through. While some wordless graphic novels allow for the reader to make up their own story, Robot Dreams tells the story in a much more direct way, so there's not much ability for the reader to construct a story--but that doesn't detract from the book at all. It's a really great tale, heavy on the morals but subtle in its telling. The dog's got big problems, he can't treat his robot friend right and it haunts him in his relationships until he builds another robot and treats it right. While that's going on the discarded robot, after visiting a series of dream-states while immobile under a blanket of snow, experiences the harsh realities of the world (being ripped apart for spare parts, sold to a scrap yard) but is reborn when he is discovered by the raccoon who rebuilds him. It's a great tale for young adults struggling through the crappy friendships that can take place during middle and high school and can serve to soothe the injured soul or teach the trespasser.

Booktalk Hook: I think I'd have to booktalk this with other graphic novels or other books about friendship because, while this book has a lot to teach, it's a really quick read. With that in mind, I'd give a quick rundown of the plot, possibly after starting with the question of whether anyone's felt like they were mistreated (or were the mistreater) in a friendship.

Review: The Golden Compass

Pullman, Philip (1995). The Golden Compass. New York: Random House. 399 pages.


Summary & Evaluation: Lyra Belacqua, an orphan, and her daemon Pantalaimon are confined to the stuffy halls of academia and scholarship at the Jordan College--but after hearing about a dangerous arctic expedition and its discovery of mysterious Dust from the terrifying Lord Asriel, Lyra's world begins to expand beyond the confines of the College. Danger begins to lurk around every corner as the malicious child-snatchers, known as the Gobblers, haunt the city and, unknowingly, Lyra enters into their company by becoming the assistant to their leader, the alluring Mrs. Coulter. Lyra escapes their clutches and begins a journey that takes her to the arctic, with her new-found friends--gypsies, witches, armored bears and a balloon pilot--who help her to free the abducted children.

I picked up The Golden Compass partly because of its upcoming movie release, but also because I told a friend of mine that I was looking for a good YA fantasy novel and he recommended it as his favorite. After reading it, I can certainly understand why it's being made into a movie, and why my friend liked it so much--when you have armored bears (with the awesome name of panserbjorn), witches and gypsies and the book is set in a Victorian-type England, how could it not be good? There are a lot of veiled (and unveiled) swipes at the Catholic Church throughout the novel, which might go over the heads of some readers or anger others (especially their parents, if they're onto it) but it doesn't really get in the way of the driving narrative, with Lyra running from college to Gobblers to gypsies to the arctic--and then on, to another universe.

Booktalk Hook: As mentioned, there's going to be a movie adaptation of this novel released soon (December 2007) so it wouldn't be hard to get interest up for this novel, especially since the series (His Dark Materials) is already so popular.

October 8, 2007

Dylan and Elvis, live and in person!

Sam and I took in an Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan concert this Friday, up in Manchester, New Hampshire. Good stuff. My friend, Ted, asked me to tell him how it went so I wrote him this . . . thought I'd post it to the blog, too, rather than re-write it.

Costello took the stage first (after Amos Lee, who's alright) and began his one-man show with a high-energy rendition of "Radio, Radio." He had his acoustic guitar tuned so the bass strings sounded more like an electric guitar, making it sound like two guitarists were playing. Pretty cool effects with that. At points Elvis got a little political, getting a rise out of the audience when he took jabs at the war and made fun of the robots on the campaign trail (a subject particularly appealing to those living in NH).

Dylan's set was pretty good, had some arrangements that I hadn't heard before which was refreshing. Sam made the comment that he hasn't changed the arrangement on any songs from "Modern Times" because he hasn't gotten bored with them yet. I thought that must be close to the mark, because his 60's songs were arranged so differently from the originals (and the more recent arrangements that I'd heard before) that I couldn't tell which song it was until he sang the first verse--songs like "Positively 4th Street" and, surprisingly, "Lay, Lady, Lay." "Pos. 4th St." was just awesome, where he slowed down the song and stretched out the second-to-last word of every-other line, making it sound more like words of advice, like a love song--far from the usual arsenic-laced and sharp-tongued wit of the original. Really, he stuck to songs from the 60's and his last two albums, so it was almost a "greatest hits" concert.

Sadly, Dylan and Elvis didn't take the stage together. I was left with a "what the fuck?" feeling after they turned on the house lights. Sam thought they'd come on and do "Working Mans' Blues" after Costello's political subjects. I thought maybe "Political World" would be even more appropriate. Well worth the hour drive and the ticket price, though, as I had a great time with Costello's set (first time I've seen him in concert) and Dylan, well, unless he came on stage and puked, he couldn't disappoint me.

October 4, 2007

Review: Born Confused

Hidier, Tanuja Desai (2002). Born Confused. New York: Scholastic. 500 pages.



Summary & Evaluation: Dimple Lala's an Indian by birth and American by nature, and she's confused--but she won't stay that way for long. After Dimple's parents try to arrange for her to meet a "suitable" boy, Dimple begins the process of discovering her Indian heritage as she increasingly comes into contact with it through Karsh (the boy), Kavita (her Indian born-and-bred, college-aged cousin) and others in the "underground" Indian heritage scene in NYC. The "suitable" boy complicates matters, however, as Dimple's all-American friend--the always-at-the-center-of-attention Gwyn Sexton--begins to crush on Karsh and claims him for her own. In the end, Dimple not only comes to terms with her Indian culture but also learns to embrace her family and friends, taking the relationships to a new level.

Born Confused is, to date, the hippest YA novel I've read. The main characters live between New Jersey and NYC and, at the age of 17, have fake id's, are hanging out with college-aged men and women and have a language all of their own. It's perhaps the language that's the most appealing, however, as this secret language morphs somewhat as the story progresses. At the beginning, Dimple and Gwyn are speaking in cutesy American slang of half-curses ("frock" and "oh my Claude"s predominate)--but as Dimple (and Gwyn) begins to investigate her Indian heritage, the language of the novel integrates more Indian words, and Dimple engages her culture in a more positive manner. That said, the language of the novel was also also one of its biggest problems for me, in that there was no glossary of Indian words used (okay, not a big gripe, but I forgot what bhangra meant and people were being described left and right as being all "bhangrad up"). Also, the novel tended to drag in the middle as Dimple's complex relations with everyone and everything--her family, her friends, herself, her heritage--took a while to describe and even longer to solve. Regardless of its problems, however, Born Confused was fun to read in that it wasn't your typical "I hate my parents and I need a boyfriend" novel, and more of an "I want to discover my heritage and, by the way, I need a boyfriend" novel.

Booktalk Hook: The book's plot relies somewhat on Dimple's ever-present camera (named "Chica Tikka") and her growth as a photographer as a parallel to her relationship with others, so I think I'd want to read pages 200-201. I think it's a pretty good description of Dimple's journey of self-realization and involves the author's fascination with a lyrical narrative and fusing Indian words with English.

swing, you sinners!

I know that I've been posting a lot of YouTube videos on here lately but I think you guys reading this can deal with it. Hell, they've been good--so how can you complain? This one is about Betty Boop's pal--Bimbo the Dog--who has stolen a chicken and now faces the consequences, as he enters into a graveyard and sees the effects his bad actions in the present have on his soul in the afterlife. There'll be no more stealing chickens, no more shooting craps, no more chasing skirts for this guy! So, please enjoy this great black and white cartoon featuring a fantastic mix of jazz music and cartooning.

October 2, 2007

get up on this!

Since the last James Brown YouTube video I linked to is now down, I'm posting this one, roughly from the same era and with the same dance steps--with the notable inclusion of James Brown's famous quick-splits. Enjoy James Brown . . . on the Night Train!