I hesitate giving this book a review, mostly because it's been so well-reviewed for such obvious reasons, but I'd listed it on a reading list and I have to cross it off now.
 

I literally spent the whole afternoon with my nose in this book.  Years ago, back in fifth grade, my teacher had read this out loud to my class during reading time. (I wonder if, given the controversy surrounding the book, any parents of my classmates had complained.  She got to finish it, so I guess not.) Embarrassingly, I'd forgotten most of the story, save for one incredibly heart-breaking scene that has stayed with me - and one I relived this afternoon.

( He did not know what his selection meant. He did not know what he was to become. Or what would come of him. )

I literally squealed with delight as I finished reading this. 


The title is so similar to How to Be Popular, I wondered if this was written as a response to that book.  And yet, it bears many more similarities to Stargirl.  On a different note, it's wonderful to see an original cover instead of some stock photo.

( Lunch at a new school is like the SAT of social tests. It determines your immediate standing. Whomever you choose to sit with tells people who you are, or who you see yourself as. )

Holy wow, am I really posting another book review two days in a row, even though this book was more than the combined lengths of the two previous books* I'd read?  I am quite surprised at myself.


This was one of those instances where I gobbled the book up out of the good kind of fascination, and not the bad kind (see: The Luxe).  I was riveted.

*I'm bad at math, so this may be a slight exaggeration.

( In which fate deals me a savage blow, leaving me to my own pitiably meager devices. )

All right, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, since I never really lost my faith in the first place.  But I have been noticing that some of the books I've read lately, with the exception of Sweet 16, haven't really wowed me.  This book, however, is a major game-changer.


First of all, feast your eyes on this doozy of a cover.  Don't you just wish you could jump into it, a la Mary Poppins, and live in that colorful, cartoony version of New York?  Because among other things, this book is a gentle celebration of all things New York.

( Every other person in Silicon Valley is of Indian descent or related to an Internet tycoon, and frequently they're both. I'm actually considered pretty mainstream. )

I finally finished this book after weeks of reading it in 15-minute intervals.


This is one book where it might be more worthwhile to purchasse it, rather than use your mother's library card to check it out.  But either way, you need to check it out.

( If you can make it to puberty without already having become a Catcher in the Rye casualty you're a better man than I, and I'd love to know your secret. It's too late for me, but the Future Children of America will thank you. )

Another one from my recent trip to the library.  I remember seeing/hearing about this book a few years ago.  Now I know why: everyone was busy praising it to the heavens.  And with good reason.


On a whim, I went on Rachel Cohn's website and I saw this author's name on her blogroll.  Isn't it great that good YA authors love each other? (Note: neither Alyson Noel or our friend Meg made the list.)

( Fact of Life #1: Fat girls don't get much action. Fact of Life #2: I want to increase my kissability. )

Since I have no YA lit to review (currently reading: The Breakup Bible, Bergdorf Blondes, and Prep), I thought I'd dip into my supply of classics.  These include, naturally, all 6 of Jane Austen's novels, but there are one or two others that aren't as well known.  This one, however, deserves as much praise.


Think of it as the Pride and Prejudice of its time.  It was published in 1778, a somewhat different time than the 1810s, in which most of Austen's books were published.  But it deals with many of the same themes.

( Oh sir, shall I ever again involve myself in so foolish an embarrassment? I am sure that if I do, I shall deserve yet greater mortification. )

This is kind of the question, or at least one of many, that this books asks.


I picked this book up as soon as I saw it, and since then I've read it at least three times.  I'd definitely equate it to the nearly perfect Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and even suggest that Naomi and Ely goes above and beyond.  This is in no way a Nick and Norah copycat; it has a different story, different characters, and different lessons that each of them must learn.  Let's get into it.

( Somehow I think he's never looked more beautiful. Teary-eyed, splotchy-cheeked, runny-nosed, laughing and crying. My boy. )

And I love books by Jerry Spinelli.  That I got this book two weeks ago and finished reading it before some books I've had for months is evidence of this fact.  Also, just in general, I love Stargirl.


You could call Love, Stargirl a sequel or, as my cover has it, a companion novel (which sounds a little better, I suppose).  It takes place about six months after Stargirl has left her boyfriend Leo, one true friend Dori, and the rest of Mica High.  She's moved to a faraway place called ... um, Pennsylvania. 

( You be you and I'll be me, today and today and today ... )

... as I explained to my father while driving home from Borders.


Translation: Stargirl.

I first read this book last summer (or the summer before last - can't remember) and I'm so glad I did.  That's right - this book is so good, I'm thankful that it came into my life.

This is one of TV's best shows, first of all.  Even if you only know Judd Apatow from his movies, which seem to be taking over the entire comedy genre in Hollywood, you have to know that this is where it all started - and worth your while to check out.  It's in a class all of its own (no pun intended).


Like many people, I didn't watch this show when it aired.  I was in middle school then, and I guess not a part of the show's target audience.  In a way, it was probably for the best, since I probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much.  It's amazingly well-written with a large cast of aforementioned freak and geek characters, not to mention other staples of high school like jerky jocks, bitter math teachers, eager guidance counselors, and of course well-meaning parents.


( Read more... )</div></div>

Yeah, I do.


Unfortunately, the cover of the book I own doesn't have this cool purple sketch of New York City; instead, it's an iconic shot from the movie, which obviously means that I didn't get around to reading this book until after they filmed the adaptation.  I knew I should've checked it out from the library almost two freaking years before the movie, but alas, I was young and foolish.  Then I started to hear how good the movie was (which I can attest to, having pleaded my brother to download it for me), and I knew I had to read it before I could see it.

( You're like my musical soul mate. )