Winger by Andrew Smith

Then I saw Casey puffing his chest out, walk straight up to Joey and push him hard, knocking Joey back. And Casey said, “You think you're funny with your song, queer?”

I threw my backpack down and ran as fast as I could.

I knew Joey would fight. He wasn't afraid of anyone. You had to be like that to be a fly half, and I'm sure that Joey had been hit square against his unpadded body at least a thousand times more than Casey ever had. But I wasn't going to let him get gang-jumped by those assholes.

So I ran faster than I did in practice. I had to. And just as Joey was making a fist, Nick was circling behind him, and Casey was in the process of throwing the first punch, I launched myself, head up and shoulder down, right into Casey's knees and wrapped my arms around his legs, driving him, crashing, to the ground.

I love a good fight scene.

Seriously. If a book or movie has a good fight scene in it, I'm much more likely to enjoy it than if it doesn't. Some people like romance, some people like mermaids, some people like pirates. I like violence.* I'm not sure what that says about me (other than the fact that I like to write fight scenes too), but it's true.

It's no wonder, then, that I picked up Winger. I mean, the kid on the cover looks like he's been in some kind of fight and I wanted to know why. After reading the summary (and seeing that there were illustrations scattered throughout – I'm a sucker for art), I had to have this book. I bought it and added it to the hoard of unread books stacked around my room until I finally got around to it a few days ago.

Ryan Dean West, or Winger (as his rugby teammates call him), is a loser. At least, that's what he calls himself almost constantly. He's a fourteen year-old in his junior year, making him the baby of the class, and is in love with his best friend, Anna, though he doesn't have the guts to tell her. Adding to his loser status is the fact that last year he got caught having stolen a teacher's phone, which he only took to call Anna on her birthday, and has now been to Opportunity Hall – the crappy dorms where all the delinquents are sent to live in his boarding school, Pine Mountain.

Ryan Dean is certain this is his death sentence, especially when he realizes he's rooming with the biggest asshole of them all (not counting the football team, whom everyone hates most of all). When Annie tells him he'll have to toughen up, he knows she's right, but even Ryan Dean has no idea what this year has in store for him and it's going to take more than a little toughness if he's going to make it through to senior year.

With its witty sense of humor and realistic portrait of teenage confusion, heartbreak, and cruelty; Winger was a joy to read, even if it did break my heart more than once. I love Ryan Dean as a flawed protagonist who made more than his share of mistakes, but did them with a good heart so that you couldn't help cheering him along.

Intelligently written, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartbreakingly honest, this is one I'd suggest to most teenage boys and girls – especially those that need reminding that just because you make a lot of mistakes and bad choices doesn't mean you're a bad person. We're all just finding our way along as best we can and sometimes the only thing we can do is try.

Rating: ★★★★★

*Not senseless violence. I do have specific standards with what's involved. I just like a good fight, that's all. Particularly when the hero is the winner. But then, what else do you expect from someone who has been in love with DC Comics since the nineties?

And that's probably about the time that Joey seriously considered throwing the old man out too. If it wasn't precisely at that moment, I'm sure he felt like it when Ned started screaming insanely in wild terror.

You know, there's something especially frightening when you're stuck in the darkest depths of hell, in the middle of a raging torrent of mud, and the insane old lost guy in the front seat starts screaming like he's going to die. I mean, I figured Ned had probably stared Death in the face more than a few times in just the past four of five hours, let alone since the discovery of fire, so when you hear a guy who you know has gone through as much shit as Ned has – in a lifetime that was undoubtedly measured by geological periods as opposed to calendars – screaming like that, well . . . you just know you're going to die too.

GNW: Batman & Robin: White Knight vs. Dark Knight

Being Batman has never been easy. Neither has being a member of his team. After the launch of Batman Inc., Dick Grayson has taken over the role of Gotham's Dark Knight while Bruce works in stopping overseas threats. At Dick's side is Damian Wayne, Bruce's only biological son and the newest Boy Wonder.

Though Bruce isn't the same Batman anymore, Gotham hasn't changed much at all. There's still plenty to keep the Dynamic Duo busy. Psychopaths have never been in short supply in their line of work and this line-up is enough to throw the two for a loop. Whether it's Bruce's not-so-stable ex, the White Knight who wants to cleanse Gotham of the bloodlines of Arkham inmates, or even Jason Todd, former ward to Bruce Wayne and the second person to carry the title of Robin.

Though Damian and Dick have worked together for a while now, they still have plenty to learn, both about each other and themselves. They may not have the same senses of humor or even be brothers by blood, but they're family and that has to be enough.

Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne as the Dynamic Duo was a genius stroke on the move of the writers after the "death" of Bruce Wayne. They're a fun combination all around. I mean, how can you not fall in love with a surly Robin and almost playful Batman? Though he was Bruce's first ward, Dick Grayson is far from being the same person his surrogate father is and it shows- whether that's in his one-liners or his fighting style. He's still the badass we've come to associate with Batman, still giving the right tribute to the name, while adding his own little twist to the role itself.

As for Damian, he's one of those little buggers that you love to hate when you're first introduced to him.  He's rough around the edges and it takes a great deal of restraint for the kid to keep from killing his enemies. After all, he was raised by the League of Assassins. However, the longer you're exposed to him, the more you get to see that he's actually a good kid. He's just an eleven year-old with a traumatizing past and a debilitating sense of humor. Working with Dick Grayson does him well. The two even each other out and he trusts his surrogate brother in a way he doesn't trust anyone else. When he's struggling against the war within him, Dick always trusts him and is there to help steer him in the right direction when he needs it.

All in all, the point is, this was a lovely graphic novel and I really enjoyed getting to read it. It's full of all the typical adventures of Batman & Robin, but with the style and grace that I've come to adore with these writers.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep.

I picked up this beautiful copy of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five while in Barnes & Noble with a few friends a couple of months ago. It was on a table set aside for summer reading and I immediately fell in love with the volume. I had been wanting to read it for some time because I have heard so much about it in the past, so I added it to my stack of books and carted it away to the cashier.

Slaughterhouse-Five is primarily the story of Billy Pilgrim. Billy is a World War II veteran who claims to have been kidnapped by aliens called Tralfamadorians that kept him in a zoo and taught him that the way humans see time is wrong; that a person always exists in one place or another; that death isn't really as permanent as we seem to believe.

Prior to this, or because of this (it isn't made clear), Billy has managed to come "unstuck in time." Throughout the narrative, he jumps around from one point in his life to another, painting us a picture of what he experienced and every hard truth he came across.

The back of the book has this to say about the contents of Vonnegut's novel:

Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world's great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most.

"Splendid art . . . a funny book at which you are not permitted or laugh, a sad book without tears." -Life

I believe that synopsis describes it perfectly.

Going into Slaughterhouse-Five, I have to admit, I was worried that I wouldn't like it. I'm not exactly antiwar and Adult Fiction in general isn't really my forte. I hated Catcher in the Rye (though I'm told it's much better on the second read) and Slaughterhouse-Five is often clumped in with Salinger's work by being an American classic/high school required reading/banned book. The first two chapters didn't help either. I didn't know much about the book to start with and I was left utterly confused when it began as a first person narrative and morphed into third.

I ended up loving this book.

Slaughterhouse-Five is an extremely well-written look at the horrors of war as well as the inevitable nature of the insane things that happen to the average person. It is one of those books that draws you in with its oddity and its dark humor and keeps you enthralled by the wisdom it offers up throughout.

He uses Pilgrim's being "unstuck in time" as a way of keeping the reader interested throughout and gave him the ability to tell the story in a non-linear way that gave the reader insight into the things in the past that caused present and future repercussions. This way, he could focus on the main points of the story without disconnecting from the reader while also pointing out the futility of time and how quickly it moves- so that it often seems like everything is running together at once.

While one might expect this to grow confusing as the story goes on, it only becomes clearer and easier to follow after the second chapter. Vonnegut clearly put some great effort into making this technique as easily read as he did and it worked for him. I grew to love that part of the writing style almost as much as the rest of his mastery of the written word.

I could go on about how much I enjoyed this book, but I'd rather leave some of it for you to read. It's only a little over 200 pages and hardly took any time at all. If you're looking for a good read, this is definitely the book you're looking for. (And be sure to pick up the one with this cover. It's too beautiful to pass up!)

Rating: ★★★★★

Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.