February books

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: I didn't love it as much as the friend who recommended it to me did, but I did like it quite a lot. It did take me quite a while to get into, and I only stuck with it because (a) it felt like a payoff book and (b) my friend promised it would pay off. I wasn't disappointed. Everything came together really well. Um, a brief summary is that the book is about this girl Taylor who is at a boarding school and has to confront her past. I seriously can't say more without giving away the entire plot, so. Check it out. A quote:

I remember love. It’s what I have to keep on reminding myself. It’s funny how you can forget everything except people loving you. Maybe that’s why humans find it so hard getting over love affairs. It’s not the pain they’re getting over, it’s the love.

A Likely Story Book 1: Likely Story by David van Etten: THIS BOOK. It's about a girl who WRITES A SOAP OPERA. It is super fun and cute and fluffy and. SHE WRITES A SOAP OPERA. I just...I cannot even capslock that enough. ALSO. Her mom is a soap star and the whole thing is about SOAPS and the main character is living her own soap opera what with being a cheater and having mom drama and all, and I just...SHE WRITES A SOAP OPERA. I was having serious reader's block when I read this and it totally helped break my slump.

Confessions of a Serial Kisser by Wendelin van Draanen: This was...not that good. Oh, it was totally readable, but I wasn't that enamored of the character at all. I am glad that it was a fluffy post-divorce thing where she's obsessed with kissing and doesn't go around sleeping with boys to dull the ache left in her heart or whatever, but still. Great last line, though.

Oh, also, I was attempting to read Dreams from My Father by [President] Barack Obama, but it got boring and I have too much other stuff to read. I got about halfway through and read enough to know he's a really good writer even if he did switch to his mother's POV during one scene (in his memoir. UM). But it just wasn't keeping my interest.

January books

The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes: Very fast read about a young girl who gets separated from her brother while in foster care. I found the book lacking in detail where I wanted it, even as Grimes paints a clear, complete picture of everything that happens. Just a little too sparse for my tastes. Delightful read, though.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Hey, so, I read this for my reading group (book club for grad students, basically), and you may have heard that it won the Newbery. WELL. Clearly, we are psychic. Anyway, while I was reading the book, I didn't think I would like it, but when I finished...I realized I did. Here's my favorite quote from the book:

You're alive [...]. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you're dead, it's gone. Over. You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name. [...] [T]hat potential is finished.

Secret Spaces of Childhood by Elizabeth Goodenough: I had to read this for class, and some of the selections were an absolute chore to get through.