Book review: Candy Girl

Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn’t take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill. This is Diablo’s captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen’s clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer’s keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.

Candy Girl is not for the faint of heart. Or the shy or squeamish.

I don't remember where I heard of this book, but it has been on my list for a very long time. Diablo Cody wrote the screenplay for Juno, so I expected it to be funny, and having never stripped, I knew it would be unlike anything I've experienced.

The story in Candy Girl is interesting -- Diablo really didn't seem like someone who'd end up as a stripper. All of it is new to her and that makes her really relatable, despite the job she has taken on. 

But it's also graphic. Really graphic. Bodily fluids and weirdos and stuff. So you want to be prepared for that if you read it.

I didn't hate this book, and I didn't love it, but it was interesting and intriguing, so I figured I'd let you know it existed! :)

Have any of you read Candy Girl? What did you think?

Book review: Ironman

Ironman by Chris Crutcher

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday

Bo has been at war with his father for as long as he can remember. The rage he feels gives him the energy as a triathlete to press his body to the limit, but it also translates into angry outbursts toward his teachers.

Now dangerously close to expulsion from school, Bo has been assigned to Anger Management sessions with the school "truants." With an eclectic mix of hard-edged students, Bo may finally have to deal with his long-brewing hatred for his father -- before it eats away at him completely.

I, historically, LOVE Christ Crutcher. I highly recommend his novels Whale Talk and Deadline.

I didn't love this one, though.

Crutcher is and/or was a teacher and a child and family therapist, so he has LOADS of experience. His books typically deal with "issues" without becoming an "issue book." Whale Talk, for example, includes storylines about racism and domestic violence. But it isn't about either of those things.

Ironman focuses on Bo's relationship with his father, among other subjects. One of the reasons I think I didn't like Ironman as much is that it strays to the other side of that line -- it's almost too much of an issue book. It felt like Crutcher was trying to impart lessons on his audience rather than letting the character's development speak for itself.

The format of the book was also a little tricky. It was told in two perspectives. The first, which I loved, was when Bo was writing letters to Larry King. These really showed Bo's development and allowed the reader to get to know Bo.

The other perspective was a third person, omnipresent (is that the right word?) narration. These parts weren't so great for me. It was nice to see things happen and it helped move the story along, but that's where it felt like we were being taught. It was also frustrating to be taken from Bo's perspective, because the third person sections didn't show his development at all, and sometimes I felt like Bo's personality changed between the two perspectives.

Ironman is one of Crutcher's earlier books -- it was first published in 1995, I believe. This is obvious not only in the letters to Larry King, but also in the way certain subjects are handled. I think, if he were to return to this storyline, Crutcher would write some plotlines differently now, simply because of the ways the world has changed.

The saving grace of this book for me was what I always love about Crutcher's books -- he writes some awesome characters. They make this book worth reading. Unfortunately, the characters in this book really shine in the last few chapters. But man. They're as good as Crutcher's characters usually are.

I ended up giving Ironman two stars, though it had three before I changed my mind. I loved the characters, but the rest was just a let down compared to others of Crutcher's books.

Have any of you read a book by Chris Crutcher? I'd love to hear what you thought!

Book review: Legend

Legend by Marie Lu

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Unfortunately I didn't love this book. It does have a 4.08 on Goodreads, so if you'd like to read other reviews, go there. But here's my thoughts, for any who care.

ONE. The plot of this story seems like it would be great. I love a good dystopian novel. But for me, it didn't measure up. A lot of the world-building needed to be more specific. I didn't understand why I should hate the Republic for most of the book. I didn't know that it was only the western US until re-reading the description just now. I just needed more information so I could be invested in Day, who fights against the Republic.

TWO. The characters were not good. Many parts that needed to have emotion didn't. At all. I didn't care what happened to anyone except Tess, a not-major-but-not-minor character. Which made me really apathetic about the entire book.

That's a lot of it, really. There were other things I didn't like as I was reading it, but if these two problems --my confusion and my lack of connection to the characters -- were solved, I might have enjoyed the book.

I gave it two stars on Goodreads. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever read -- I made it through -- but I certainly don't recommend it.

Have any of you read this book? It's well liked on Goodreads. What did you think?

Book review: Imaginary Girls

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Chloe's older sister, Ruby, is the girl everyone looks to and longs for, who can't be captured or caged. When a night with Ruby's friends goes horribly wrong and Chloe discovers the dead body of her classmate London Hayes left floating in the reservoir, Chloe is sent away from town and away from Ruby.

But Ruby will do anything to get her sister back, and when Chloe returns to town two years later, deadly surprises await. As Chloe flirts with the truth that Ruby has hidden deeply away, the fragile line between life and death is redrawn by the complex bonds of sisterhood.

Real talk: I didn't like this book.

But I finished it.

Why did I do that?

I think, similar to The Maze Runner (reviewed here), the mystery of it hooked me.

There were a few things I liked. (And I hate giving an entirely negative review.)

ONE. The author does a great job with details. Really. The details create an eerie quality essential to the book. Things like the feel of the reservoir when it floods its banks, when Chloe discovers an inhuman talent of another character... It's surreal and creepy and gives the book a haunting mood that made me not want to give up.

TWO. There are some really great characters. I love Pete -- a guy hopelessly in love with Ruby even though she barely gives him the time of day, who you can relate to someone in your life. And just the lives of the young people -- London's friends mostly -- and the way they relate to each other seemed very realistic to me. Hanging out on the green or in a graveyard because where else are teenagers supposed to go to be free from parental inspection?


Things that bothered me included:

ONE. There is a HUGE mystery (which I'll not reveal here because maybe you still want to read it and maybe you'll love it because lots of people on Goodreads do). And one of the things that bothers me most is that Chloe, the main character, doesn't really seem to care. It doesn't bother her at all. She's content just going around buyin sunglasses and eatin popsicles as if something insane and impossible isn't happening.

TWO. Also: Ruby sucks. Chloe looks up to her and always talks about how Ruby is the only one who cares about her and would do anything for her. But from my point of view, Ruby only cares about herself, and the qualities Chloe admires are that Ruby can get people to do what she wants them to and that she's beautiful. So I didn't believe Chloe's admiration or gratefulness, and I wished the author would give us a little more to buy into.

THREE. Oh, and the Ruby is pretty and can get anyone to do anything she wants? Yeah, you really, really get beat over the head with that message. Apparently this is very important and the author did not want us to admit it. Which is ironic because...

FOUR. I needed the author to come out and tell me a lot of things that she just hinted at instead. I felt like I was missing parts of the book, or that I should know something I didn't. It was a very frustrating reading experience.


Once again, I don't know why I kept reading it, since I have no problem putting down most books if I don't enjoy them. I guess I hoped it would get less frustrating and I would get some answers. (Spoiler: I didn't.)

So I guess I'm not really recommending this book, but I am wondering if anyone out there has read it? Please don't reveal spoilers in the comments. But if you have read it, let me know because I'd love to hear your opinions!

Have any of you read this book? Or alternately, do you guys ever get sucked into books even if you hate yourself for it? 

Book review: Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn't help it - Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you only read about in books. And they didn't fit anywhere else.

And then, one day, it was over. Jack just stopped talking to Hazel. And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to boys and girls at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it's never that simple. And it turns out, she was right. Jack's heart had been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in white to live in a palace made of ice. Now, it's up to Hazel to venture into the woods after him. Hazel finds, however, that these woods are nothing like what she's read about, and the Jack that Hazel went in to save isn't the same Jack that will emerge. Or even the same Hazel.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbsis a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind.

I didn't love this book. And here's why:

1. It took way too long to get interesting. If I didn't have it on audio (and if it wasn't the only one that had been loaded onto my phone) I probably would have put it down with a bookmark and not reopened it and then realized it was due and said oh well. Seriously, I didn't really get interested until Chapter 15. Fifteen! Out of 25! That's way too late. Especially since it's billed as a fairy tale, but all those fifteen chapters mostly focus on Hazel's life at home.

2. The best characters in the whole book only have one scene, maybe two. And there's a few other things like this -- things that could have been so much more if the author had pushed a little. Instead, she mentioned them and moved on.

3. Hazel was too thick headed, I think. There were a few times she walked into something, even having been warned, and I was like, what are you doing?

I think those are the top three. I didn't hate the book. It was just all right, though.

Although you all know I love books written for a younger audience, it's possible I was just too old for this and/or too much of a writer myself to enjoy it. (Sometimes I get too wrapped up in the mechanics of the story -- the writer makes me see what's supposed to be happening backstage, makes me look up -- any other writers get that?)

Anyway. It's all right. But certainly not my favorite read of the year.

Anyone read Breadcrumbs? I'd love to hear what you think!

Book review: Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.
For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago.
Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger?
Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.
"Tuesdays with Morrie" is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world.

Before reading this book, I knew that it was a book everyone loved, and that's about it. I'd heard it described in ways that led me to believe it was life changing, one I'd want to read over and over again.

My feeling after reading?

Meh.

It wasn't bad. I didn't ever want to quit reading it. But it wasn't life changing, either.

Morrie is wise. I agree with pretty much everything he says. We (everyone) should be more focused on family and people, less ambitious about money and power. What really matters is the way you treat people, the interactions you have with them, the effect you have on them.

But really, of all the lessons Mitch learns from Morrie, that's the only one that stuck with me. I couldn't tell you any of his other wisdom because I don't remember it. (and I read it very recently.)

Maybe I'm seeing it too much through my own creative writing experience.

If you've done any classroom creative writing, I'm sure you've heard the phrase "show, don't tell." And I wonder if maybe that's why none of it stuck with me -- it's great to hear an old man tell me all the things he's learned about life, but I think they would stick with me more if I'd actually known Morrie, if I could see him living his life that way and see what it actually looks like.

I also know that creative non-fiction isn't always completely true. That sounds like stating the obvious, but many may take this book as absolutely true. Morrie was interviewed for national television and you can still find those videos, and Mitch Albom constantly talks about the tape recorder he used. But even if we were both there in the room, my perspective of events might not be the same as Mitch's. So I guess I'm also wary of that (as I would be in any memoir or piece of non-fiction).

So, like I said above, I didn't hate it. But I didn't love it.

Have any of you read Tuesdays with Morrie? Was it what you were expecting?

Book review: We'll Always Have Summer

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Because this is a sequel, it will by nature have some spoilers. Read my review for the previous books here and here. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever.

Meh.

I'm just not super thrilled with this series. Which is so weird, since usually I'd stop reading if I wasn't liking it. So I guess I liked this book enough to keep reading, but not enough to look back on it favorably.

Should I even say more in a meh review?

I think this book could have been better. There are a lot of intense relationship issues going on, but I feel like it skates over the serious issues (alluded to in the description as "the worst mistake a boy can make") and focuses on more superficial issues.

I also just don't get the whole Conrad thing.

Like, he's cute, I'm sure, and she loves him, loved him since she was little.

But that seems to be the only thing going for him -- that she always wanted him and never could have him. He never wowed me. He never really treats her well in the first couple books, so I just don't get why she keeps going back to him. I just don't get the love triangle thing.

Maybe that makes it realistic, though. We don't always want what or who is best for us. Not that Jeremiah is perfect for Belly either.

Idk. I'm apathetic.

I know I've asked this the last couple reviews, too, but has anyone else out there read these books? Do you get the Conrad thing?

Book review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Some summers are just destined to be pretty. Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

This book was... ok for me. Definitely not bad. Jenny Han is an excellent writer. I liked the characters. Well, not Belly in particular. She was kind of young/immature for me. But I loved everyone else. Especially Jeremiah.

I also loooved that it was set at a beach house. I also grew up spending most my summers at a beach house, though not the whole summer like Belly. So it was full of familiarity for me, like grab-what-you-want meals and sand that you can never quite get rid of and going to the boardwalk at night or movies on rainy days. So I loved that aspect of it.

And I found myself wanting to keep reading it and thinking about it when I wasn't reading it, which is usually the sign of a great book for me.

But. I keep finding these books where I guess what's going to happen at the veerrrrryy beginning. It's really annoying.

Also, it was almost boring. Like, just on the borderline of keeping my interest. The characters and the beach housy-ness was enough for me to keep reading, but I don't think the plot, anywhere else, would have.

I don't know. I'm moving on to the next in the series because the characters really are pretty great. And from what I've heard the series only gets better. So I'll keep you updated.

Have any of you read this one? What did you think?

Book review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews.

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

I think I found this book through recommendations from Goodreads. It's often recommended for people who like the Hunger Games trilogy. I'm going to jump right in to likes and dislikes.

Likes:
1. The plot of the book sucks you in, very quickly and very strongly. There were surprises throughout the book and it was one of those audiobooks I take inside with me to listen because I don't want to wait until I'm in the car again. Even though there was a lot I didn't like about it, I couldn't stop reading it.
2. I love Chuck. If you read it, I bet you will too.
3. I listened to the audio book and one of the characters had an Irish accent. Awesome.
4. This book has the most creative bad guys I've ever seen ever. They are called Grievers and they are giant slugs with machinery they can suck into their yuck or spit out to fight. Seriously.

Dislikes:
1. James Dashner just doesn't seem to be a good writer. His story line was great. It had me hooked. But his style leaves a lot to be desired. I'll say more--
2. Thomas, the main character, seems to have no personality. He's actually kind of annoying. And since I don't like him, I don't really care what happens to him at all. Which is when I would normally stop, but there was so much mystery to it all that I kept going.
3. Dashner repeats things a lot. He harps on the details of Thomas' memory loss over and over, well past the first half of the book. We get it before then. We really do. He also seems to forget what he's already written? I don't know how that works. But Thomas will hear or see something and then a little while later see it again and be surprised and you're like, dude! You already saw that!
4. Thomas also seems to ignore really obvious clues as to What is Going On in favor of being clueless.

I feel like I keep reviewing books that I'm telling you not to read. Which is not as fun or helpful as getting a book recommendation. I have a feeling a lot of people would really enjoy this book. It just wasn't for me. So yet another "eh" book for you all.

Linked up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde again for Book Club Friday!

Book review: Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Goodreads description:

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

I don't remember how I heard about this book--probably from one of the many YA authors I follow on Twitter. I started following the author even before reading the book and grew even more excited to read it.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. I love the premise of the book--a girl who can't touch people without hurting or killing them, first imprisoned, then used as a weapon of war? Awesome.

But other than Juliette's power, I found little of the story very original. The land is more barren than most stories involving attempts at reestablishment and utopian societies, but that seems a minor detail. There is a love interest (or two?), which is common in most YA. The book gave me pretty much what I expected and not much else.

I found it hard to get into the book at first. Juliette had been in isolation for hundreds of days, and her thought processes suffered for it. I found myself skipping paragraphs of introspection to get to the point or the action.

Despite these negative impressions, I did finish the book, which says a lot because I don't finish books I don't like at least a little (why should I read something I'm not enjoying when there are so many other options?). And the end of the book was my favorite. Tahereh finally threw something at me I had not expected.

Shatter Me is the first in a trilogy. The ending of the book picked up a lot--enough that I know I'll be reading the rest of the series.

I'm not sure yet if I recommend this book. I think I do. It was entertaining and easy to read.