November Reads.
Wolf Who Rules by Wen
A solidly crafted follow-up to Tinker. The cover art is still terrible, but what can you do?
M or F? by Lisa Papademetriou & Christopher Tebbetts
Frannie likes Jeffrey, but is too shy to talk to him. Best friend Marcus impersonates Frannie to woo Jeffrey for her. Jeffrey likes Frannie (as written by Marcus). Marcus likes Jeffrey. It's a breezy and (mostly) funny story of mistaken identity and false assumptions.
The Wizard, the Witch, and Two Girls from Jersey by Lisa Papademetriou
Veronica and Heather, two total opposites, find themselves trapped in the fantasy world of the novel Queen of Twilight. They must face their fears and band together in order to save the land of Galma and get back home. Very funny.
Canning Season by Polly Horvath
Winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature (2003). Lonely and badly mothered Ratchet is sent off to the Maine woods to live with her ancient (and outlandish) great-aunts. A rollicking tall tale with lots of slapstick humor and just maudlin enough to give it some poignancy.
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
It's the same story told in Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, but this time it is told through the eyes of Mattie Gokey, a young woman desperate to get out of the woods and take control of her life. Beautifully told. I loved Mattie even when I wanted to shake her for falling for that Roy Loomis ... gah.
To Hell With All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan
I think I was supposed to hate this book, but I ... liked ... it. Even when I disagreed with Flanagan, I still felt extremely entertained and amused by this book.
American Born Chinese written and illus. by Gene Luen Yang
A 2006 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature and no wonder. Wonderfully illustrated fable with three linked storyl ines and central characters. Plus, it features the Monkey King! What's not to like?
Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights by Faye Kellerman
Two of my favorites from this short story collection were "Holy Water," which involves the kidnapping of a Rabbi by a soda company in an effort to discover their competitor's secret formula and "Summer of My Womanhood" an autobiographical piece about working in her father's deli.
Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham (illus. by Medina and Leialoha, et al)
In a New York secretly populated by exiled fairy tale folk, Rose Red is found murdered. Or isn't. She was probably murdered, but maybe she was kidnapped. Or maybe it's all a ruse. It's up to Detective Bigby Wolf and Snow White to discover the truth. It's as if Agatha Christie and Neil Gaiman had a love child who was addicted to daytime television.
Y: The Last Man (Vols. 1-4) by Brian K. Vaughan (illus. by Pia Guerra & José Marzán)
Yorick Brown is an escape artist with a hot girlfriend in Australia. He is also the last man on Earth. Dangerously addictive series ... it is impossible to just read one.
The First: Two Houses Divided by Barbara Kesel (illus. by Lary Stucker, Bart Sears, et al)
Collects the first seven issues of CrossGen Comic's The First and holycrapbad.
I Feel Bad About my Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
Another book I didn't expect to like, but did. Really need to stop reading reviews -- I hate the books I'm told I'll like and like the ones I'm told I'll hate.