Apparently I miss summer vacation . . .

OK . . . I realize it's been a while since I've posted, but we'll just call it "summer break" and move on. Here are some things that caught my eye while I was gone.


Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
I guess I should start right out with a confession that will anger and scandalize lovers of teen fiction everywhere--I wasn't overly fond of Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak. I mention this because the plotline of Just Listen is very similar to that of Speak, and I'm sure it will draw comparisons. But, to me at least, Just Listen is the book that Speak wanted to be . . . touching, true, and altogether beautiful. There is a gorgeousness to Sarah Dessen's writing, and a clarity and depth to her characters that makes me want to just hug the book to my chest and run away. This book not just about a single event, but how that event fits into a life that is already complicated and beautiful. I'm almost done reading this, and as you may be able to tell, I highly recommond it to anyone.


In the Fiddle is a Song by Durga Bernhard
This lift-the-flap-book highlights the potential of objects, as wheat becomes bread, a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, and an acorn becomes a tree. What intrigues me is the title, which appeals to the yoga-going, hippie side of me. There's something achingly true about the concept of the song being in the fiddle.


Harlequin Pink: Idol Dreams by Charlotte Lamb
Since the last two books left me all touchy-feely and way too Zen, I'll abruptly switch gears and bring you a new series of manga romances, Harlequin Pink. From the same company that brings you the ubiquitous Harlequin romances, and by many established romance writers, this series combines two things that teen girls are mad about. And they are printed entirely in pink ink!!!! Now, if only they would add a terminally ill love interest, our teens would want to LIVE in the library.



You're Different and That's Super by Carson Kressley
My basic cable has not allowed me to see even a single episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, so I'm not drawn to this book just because it was penned by the fashion stylist for the show. Maybe it's because this tale of a horse growing a unicorn horn tells me that it's more than okay for me to be unique . . . it's actually super!


Gorilla! Gorilla! by Jeanne Willis
LOOK AT THAT FACE!!!!! I tell you, these publishers are killing me with these big, sweet faces on the covers of all their books. Oh . . . and I'm sure that the story, about a mouse who loses her baby and is chased by a "mean, mouse-eating" gorilla, is sweet, too.