renatasnacks's reviews
2410 reviews

Mercury by Hope Larson

3.0

Super cute! This was a quick, fun read. I liked the modern day component of the story more than the old timey part, even though I really like bonnets.

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

5.0

Perfection, obviously. Granted it is weird to read (well, listen to) this as an adult and realize how racially problematic these books are. Also problematic is my desire to give her a complete pass for being an old lady who grew up on the prairie. Whatever don't think about that!! Just think about how sweet and honest these books are. And Cherry Jones was a bomb narrator. And it was a genius touch to get a fiddle player. A+++

Ghost World by Daniel Clowes

3.0

Hmm. I get why this is kind of a classic of the genre. I liked it, but didn't love it. Perhaps I was not in the right mood for misunderstood teen angst when I read it. Perhaps I am just (eek) too old to be reading it for the first time.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

5.0

Oh my goodness!! This book was ASTONISHINGLY good. Very different. Such an innovative combination of history, fiction, art, and prose, while still being a wonderful and suspenseful story. EEEE!

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

4.0

I enjoyed this! It's natural that this gets compared with Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, since both books are narrated by boys along the autism spectrum, but they are pretty different. Marcelo is much more high-functioning and self-aware than the kid from Curious Incident, and he engages more directly with big philosophical questions. The more I think about it, the more weird I find the events of the last 1/4 of the book, but while I was reading it I didn't question it, so I suppose that's a good sign. Anyway! Pretty good stuff.

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

4.0

In college, I brought an excerpt from one of Bill Bryson's books (I think it was I'm a Stranger Here Myself) into one of my prison classes, and pretty much all of the inmates agreed that Bill Bryson is a smug MFer. I'd honestly never thought of him that way, but the more I re-read his stuff, the clearer to me it becomes: smug MFer. Still, very funny! And I learned a lot about Australia! And its terrifying wildlife!

How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater by Marc Acito

2.0

UHH I really thought I would like this book because I like books about precocious teens and theatre and stuff, but this book was just like, insane. I felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy or whatever and just ended up being absurdly unrealistic. And Edward, the protagonist, was basically unlikeable. I get that he was supposed to be an insecure, self-absorbed teenager but like... damn was he ever. Also, this book was way long and slow-moving. Next time I want to read about self-aware theatre kids I will just re-read Will Grayson, Will Grayson I guess.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

3.0

Oh, I read this when it was called [b:Uglies|24770|Uglies (Uglies, #1)|Scott Westerfeld|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1296159834s/24770.jpg|2895388]. Zing!! Not that Oliver stole from Westerfeld or anything, and they do have different dystopian concepts (this one cures "love", his cures "ugliness") but they had a similar feel. But Uglies was much faster-paced and more intense and I just kept comparing Delirium to it and had a hard time getting into it.

Still, it's pretty well-written and I really liked the "religion" created within it, especially the quotes from the new Bible. But if you're only going to read one new YA dystopia, well, I'd say make it Uglies.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

5.0

Guess what, Champaign Public Library owns this now because of my practicum project!! If nothing else, I have accomplished this!

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

4.0

Aww, so fun! I think I liked this more than the first one. I liked seeing a slightly more grown-up Ginny. I liked the European adventure. And I'm soo glad we got to read the last letter!