The Rites & Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson

Performance and public shaming are often virtually identical experiences, differentiated only by context. And often even then, not that different.

The Rites & Wrongs of Janice Wills was another of the books I picked up in preparation for Teen Book Con (the blog post covering that event is coming soon) in an attempt to read as much as I could from the authors that would be making appearances. Of course, I started working on this pretty late (probably two weeks in advance), so I only managed to pencil in a few new authors, but Joanna Pearson made her way into the list of those I managed to get to in time. At least, she would have been, if she had been on the list. Apparently, I grabbed the wrong book, but it was worth it.

When aspiring anthropologist, Janice Wills, enters her junior year, she is expected to participate in the Miss Livermush pageant along with the rest of the girls in her grade. After all, it's only the most important event of her high school experience (at least in the eyes of everyone else in town). Janice has other priorities: like studying the people around her, making anthropological observations, and doing her best to get an article published in Anthropology Today.

Her approach to life is standing outside of it, doing her best to watch and judge while not actually participating. This is what helps her survive the high school hierarchy. However, when her aloof attitude starts drawing in the wrong people and pushing away the ones that have always been there for her, Janice starts to realize that maybe she isn't as unbiased as she thought. And maybe you have to dive into the world around you, even if it's uncharted territory.

This was an adorable book. I really enjoyed Janice and getting to walk alongside her as she learned how to become the person she wanted to be. The subject of anthropology has always been fascinating to me and I loved seeing an author take an interesting topic and wrap it around a lovely coming of age story. This was a fun, light read. One of those quick books that I really enjoyed losing myself in.

Rating: ★★★★☆

"No, no, no, Janice," he said. "I thought you were a better anthropologist than that! You have the entire art of adolescent survival all wrong! You don't hide your weirdnesses. You embrace them, thereby making them cool."

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

"Well I want to go on record as saying the sooner you learn you're your own life's accountant, the sooner you'll have tools to hammer out a decent life."

Tomorrow I'll be attending Teen Book Con, a convention for Young Adult Literature that is to be held in Houston. When I found out about a convention for my favorite genre, I immediately made plans to road trip it down there and roped a few friends into going down with me.

Chris Crutcher is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at this event, so it follows that I would immediately rush over to the library in an attempt to find a book of his that interested me. I finally found Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, a book whose title had me a bit skeptical, but I figured it was worth giving a shot anyway.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is the story of Eric Calhoune, a teenage boy who seems to be defined only by his weight. When he was younger, he befriended Sarah Byrnes, another girl outcasted from the school's social hierarchy because of the burns that cover her body (the result of a childhood injury). Now Eric has taken up swimming and these workouts have him shedding weight faster than he would have expected. Terrified that Sarah Byrnes will think he's trying to outgrow her, he gorges himself, doing his best to keep the weight so she won't be alone in her ugliness.

Then Sarah Byrnes stops talking. She stops responding to the people around her. She snaps in the middle of class and somehow manages to entirely shut down, causing her to be sent to the hospital to tend to her mental health and throwing her best friend into an inner chaos that has him scared and angry, desperately trying to understand what made her snap and why the pain suddenly became unbearable.

I was surprised with how much I truly enjoyed this book. Like I mentioned before, I was a bit skeptical from the get-go. I'm definitely not a big fan of fat-shaming and figured it would turn out to be one of those cheesy books where suddenly they all start to look better and then the world is nicer because they're pretty. However, it was very different than I expected. The book ended up straying from superficial contemporaries and actually dealing with a lot of heavy issues that teens deal with on a daily basis. There was no discounting of a person's pain, but the simple acknowledgement that it is there and that we must each find a way to make it through, regardless of how hard it gets.

My only real complaint with the book was that many of the characters weren't as multifaceted as I had expected them to be. Each seemed to be defined by a single personality trait or part of their appearance that overshadowed all else about them, making them seem two dimensional, even while dealing with some very complex issues. It wasn't a huge problem, but more of a situation that kept nagging me near the end of the novel.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and the way it dealt with many interesting points of view on a plethora of subjects. I really enjoyed getting in Eric's head throughout the story and understanding why he made the decisions he did. He was definitely a very interesting character to get to know.

Rating: ★★★☆☆
"Because the other day when I saw how hard it was for Mobe to go to the hospital to see her, I was embarrassed that I didn't know her better, that I ever laughed at one joke about her. I was embarrassed that I let some kid go to school with me for twelve years and turned my back on pain that must be unbearable. I was embarrassed that I haven't found a way to include her somehow the way Mobe has."

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

"There's the drown of things and the swim of things, I guess. I've been going back and forth, back and forth. I feel the wight of it. And this bewilderment - how can something that doesn't have a form, doesn't have a definition, doesn't have words - how can it have such weight? And yet there's the need to swim."

My local library has a "For Sale" section in which you can find books they've pulled from the shelves for one reason or another are sold for about fifty cents or one dollar. I often frequent this section in hopes of finding a new treasure while at the same time using it as yet another way in which I can help fund something I believe in. (This is also why I have no problem paying my late fees as soon as I accrue them. I know where my money's going and it is something I love.) This is the section in which I found Love is the Higher Law. I recognized David Levithan's name from the fact that he co-wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson with John Green, as well as hearing his name all over the YA news annals, so I decided to give this small novel a shot.

Love is the Higher Law is a novel depicting the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, as seen by three teenagers all living in New York City at the time of the attacks. Claire, Jasper, and Peter all have very different lives and perspectives of life itself. As we see through their eyes, we see how such a great tragedy affected them and the way they will go about their lives from here on out. Each of them is tied to the others and each experiences September 11th in a different way, but maybe each will come out the stronger for it in the end.

Nearly everyone remembers where they were the day New York City was attacked by terrorists and planes slammed into multiple American monuments, killing thousands and sending the nation into a deep state of fearfulness and eventually a war. I was in fourth grade, playing on the playground, when my teacher called us in to tell us what had happened. My mother picked me up early. My brother had been home sick and he came with her to take my sister and I home.

Being so young, and also living in Texas, I clearly didn't experience it in nearly the same way a New York City teen would have experienced this sort of thing. David Levithan manages to capture the terror one must have felt in the face of so terrible an event as well as the hope that came after it. Honestly, there are few books that I have read that can compare with this one when it comes to being so beautiful and heart-breaking all at once. His descriptions are stunning and the emotions he captures are so deeply truthful that you can't help feeling the honesty in his very phrasing of the words.

Beautiful really is the most accurate word I can find for this little gem. I look forward to rereading this again and again.

Rating: ★★★★★

This, I think, is how people survive: Even when horrible things have been done to us, we can still find gratitude in one another.

The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones

"Oh I did," he said. "I hated Them for aeons, make no mistake. But it wore out. You'll find that Things wear out, specially feelings." He didn't seem sad about it at all. He acted as if it was a relief, not hating Them anymore.

I picked up this gorgeous copy of The Homeward Bounders at the Shakespeare & Company bookstore beside Notre-Dame while showing the store to a visiting friend. I caught sight of this paperback while perusing the YA section and, being a huge fan of Howl's Moving Castle, another work by Diana Wynne Jones, I immediately snatched it up.

When Jamie stumbles upon the dwelling in which They live, he discovers that his world, an many others, are all territories in a series of elaborate board games that They control. Having discovered this secret, he is cast out of the game and made a Homeward Bounder. This means, he must travel through worlds on his own and with no control over when or how he goes. The only way he can make it stop is by finding his way home. If he manages that, he resets himself within the game and may continue as a player there.

The game has many rules, most of which are vague and never really explained to Jamie. Every Homeward Bounder he's managed come across has a different perception of what it is they might be. But one things is for certain: Homeward Bounders are meant to be alone and, therefore, must not team up or travel together. Teamwork could cause them to interfere with game play.

When Jamie meets up with Joris and Helen, he does everything in his power to make sure the three of them stay together, but it may not be in his power to keep the three of them that way. All bets are off if They find out about their teamwork, and the three aren't exactly subtlety personified.

I'll be honest here in saying that this book didn't exactly live up to my expectations after the masterpiece that was Howl's Moving Castle. I definitely preferred Sophie's adventures to Jamie's. That being said, I did enjoy this book. I enjoyed Jones's writing style and her deeply imaginative storytelling. Stepping out from under the shadow of Howl, this book still managed to be deeply interesting and I was definitely eager to find out how a resolution could possibly take place.

All in all, I would suggest this for a thoughtful read, but if you're only looking for the best, I'd give you a free pass to skip this one.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

"We took them off, " he said, "to show that we have no hope. Hope is an anchor, you know."

Novel Attraction Launch & Giveaway!!

Myself, my brother, and a good friend in front of an English
 bookstore (my natural habitat) in Paris, France.

Well there you have it, Novel Attraction is now live and I will begin posting new reviews and/or other book-related posts every Monday and Friday. (I'll do my best to keep that consistency as long as I can, but it may fade over time due to my work load or extenuating circumstances.) There may also be additional days where I choose to post, such as book events or signings.

I hope you enjoy the look and feel of the new blog. I know I'm certainly quite happy with it. I'm still working on moving old reviews over here, but for the most part you are now able to see the major changes and adjustments I've made so far. 

If you have any comments or concerns, feel free to hit me up on here or via Twitter. I'd love to hear from you.

Now, for the part you've all been waiting for: the giveaway!

I've decided to choose two of my favorite books for this particular giveaway; one classic and one contemporary. I decided to go with Emma by Jane Austen and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I think you'll agree that these are two very wonderful books. 

 (Both copies will be paperback and will have the covers seen on the left. I will be purchasing them from the Book Depository and shipping them to the winner as soon as the contest ends.)

How do I enter?: To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what is your absolute favorite book. Pretty simple, right? (One entry comment per person will be counted.)

How long will the giveaway last?: The last day of the giveaway will be April 20th. That gives you ten days to enter. Any entries received after that day will not be counted (though I will still appreciate hearing about your favorite book).

How will you choose the winner?: I am going to let random.org decide. Basically, all I have to do is input the number of comments and it will choose a random number for me. 

How do I find out if I won?: I will post the name of the winner on April 22nd in a new post. If you are chosen as the winner, please shoot me an email with your shipping address. The subject line needs to say "Giveaway Winner: your name." I will place the order immediately. (You can find my email address on the "About Me" page. Please don't spam!) :)

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the new blog! :)

Under Construction

This blog is currently under construction.

Kirsten Erin from Booklist That will be moving all content from that blog to this one for the next few days. Then, on April 10th at noon, new content will start to appear again. And maybe, just maybe, there will even be a giveaway.

In the meantime, please hold onto your hard hats and wait patiently. :)

Supporting Your Local Library

Most public libraries in the U.S. aren't nearly this huge.
Many are under-funded and in danger of being forgotten.

Those of you who aren't aware of the greatness that is Maureen Johnson's twitter account probably missed the great conversations she had with her followers yesterday. Basically, Maureen asked her followers (specifically the ones who are librarians) to give some advice on how the average person can support their local library.

I found each of the suggestions quite helpful and I wanted to share them with others who might need some new ideas on how to help a library near you. Let's do our best to show our support for libraries everywhere!

Here are the tweets that started off the conversation:

Maureen Johnson (MJ): I LOVE it when people take my book from the library. Money should never be a barrier to reading. There is a net gain when libraries are used.

MJ: I have a question for librarians: what are the best ways the AVERAGE PERSON can support the library? #longlivethelibrary

And the awesome responses:

Marie R.: @maureenjohnson 1)USE the library! 2) tell local politicians how important you think your library is 3) USE THE LIBRARY SOME MORE.

Jake Rideout: @maureenjohnson Aside from money? Check out books you want to keep on shelves. Attend events to keep programs going. Donate books to sales.

Sara Roberts: @maureenjohnson Use the library! Numbers matter. Check out books, movies, etc. Come to programs.

Jennifer Anne: @maureenjohnson But be nice to your librarian. Often staff, Salary, and benefits are cut before cuts are made to things public

MJ: All librarians saying USE the library. Good numbers matter to keeping the doors open! GO IN! CHECK OUT BOOKS! #longlivethelibrary

ClaraCharlotte: @maureenjohnson I personally financed the new wing of the Hamburg library by consistently paying late-fees ;) #longlivethelibrary

MRHS Library: @maureenjohnson Don't go around proliferating the stereotype of dust-ladened shelves and grey-bun shshhhing...today's library is keeping up!

Angie Manfredi: and talk about the library not only to politicians but to everyone - be "did you know/isn't this cool" for your library.

Lisa Bunker: One thing we need is a Dumbledore's Army of citizenry who understand what a #library offers in TODAY's world. Not the nostalgia.

I love hearing ideas on how to support libraries. I am a firm believer in the immense benefit they have on our communities and our society as a whole. Personally, books and school libraries are what helped me survive my elementary through high school years (ESPECIALLY my middle school years *cringe*). I want to do whatever I can to extend the wonderful benefits of a good library to whomever I can.

Maureen Johnson: author, adventurer, and all-around
awesome person.

And if you're not already following her on Twitter, Maureen Johnson show's she's not just a great novel writer -- she's also a lot of fun and very entertaining. Her handle is @maureenjohnson. Go check her out immediately . . . and don't forget to visit your library when you're done.

#longlivethelibrary