The Catch

The Catch by Rick Jasper
Darby Creek, 2012
107 pages
MG; Sports
4/5 stars

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this book as it seems very aimed at young males, which I am not. Not that I'm old but I'm certainly above the reading level of this book. This does not make it a bad book but I can tell that I'm not the intended audience, so keep that in mind as I share my thoughts.

This is a very fast easy read that seems to be part of a series featuring a baseball travel team of young men who face various pressures. In this one, Danny is a center-fielder who makes a spectacular catch and garners a lot of attention. This includes catching the eye of a company who wants to sponsor him, bringing up conflict among the team as Danny acts like he is an all-star. But what happens when injury strikes?

Danny is a very nice kid, which is important to remember as his dad and other adults do influence him. His father is the one encouraging him to go for the endorsement deal and hey if your dad says it's okay, why wouldn't it be? He's still young and needs good guidance in his life. Through the course of this book, he learns about his actions effect the team and how to be a team player for the good of all.

However I must warn you that this book has a lot of baseball with many pages of description. Now I like baseball as much as the next person but these descriptions were a bit much for me. If you hate sports, this might not be the best read for you. But if you have a reluctant reader in your life who loves and/or plays sports, this might be a great suggestion to hand to him or her.

Ramblings

I am so happy that it is March! My work has been crazy busy (I'm in e-sales) and I keep hoping for it to let up so that I can relax more but also not wanting it to stop because more sales means more money which is always good!

Other happy news is that my family is going to Disneyland next week-just a quick trip for the weekend! Beyond being excited about returning to Disney, I happen to have a new Sleeping Beauty shirt and I want to get a picture in front of the castle. I hope the day is as nice as in this picture I found while googling.

Other than that bit of news, my goal for today is to list all of my reviews on my blog. I don't think I've done it since December so that will be a lot of work but the more I put it off, the more it will be when I do sit down and organize it. It's been bothering me for a while so hopefully I can find a comfy spot with some yummy snacks and power through!

Currently reading: Crossed by Ally Condie and Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard (reviews to come later this month)

How is your weekend? What are you reading?

The Wordy Shipmates

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
Riverhead Books, 2008
248 pages
Non-fiction; American history
4/5 stars

Source: Library

I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up other than that it came from the mind behind Assassination Vacation, a tour of spots related to presidential assassinations, ie a great book for presidential nerds like me! Imagine my pleasure to discover that this book was about the Puritans! I've become more interested in recent years, spurred by my interest in American history and religiosity.

If you're American (and even if you're not), you've probably heard about the country's Puritan roots as well as the phrase "city upon a hill." Vowell attempts to explore these and other ideas about Puritanism and the foundation of the United States of America.

For starters, I was very impressed with how committed these people were to learning and literacy; there is apparently a plethora of primary sources (admittedly from white men at the top of the social pyramid). They wanted a documented trail. And far from considering education some elitist goal in a pejorative sense, they valued education and built Harvard specifically to educate their sons so that they could be well-versed in Biblical literacy. I do sometimes feel like some sectors of the American population look down on book-learning and it makes me feel a little better to see that our historical ancestors didn't.

Of course they are human and this book is filled with their conflicts, from what it means to be pure, different interpretations of the Bible, and just plain personality conflicts.  Of special note is John Winthrop (Massachusetts Bay Colony governor), Roger Williams (Rhode Island founder), and Anne Hutchinson (a woman daring to preach) who all receive significant page time.

But as the book progressed, I found myself reading mostly a history text and wishing there was more of Vowell's analysis and asides. I really love her voice and find her humorous. If there's a topic that needs leavening, Puritanism would be one of them! But there wasn't nearly enough to satisfy me in this text and it dragged my rating of the book down.

The Glass Collector

The Glass Collector by Anna Perera
Albert Whitman and Company, 2012
307 pages
YA; Contemporary
4/5 stars

Source: Received an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Last year I read Perera's Guantanamo Boy and appreciated Perera's skill in tackling such a prominent part of world politics when most YA shies away from that. Thus I was excited to see another work from her, this time looking at the Zabbaleen people in Cairo, Egypt who collect the garbage of the city. This is another timely topic as the book is set just before the Egyptian uprising of last year, overthrowing Hosni Mubarak.

I'm not very familiar with Egypt so most everything that was discussed was brand-new to me. I did not know that the Zabbaleen were a community within Egypt to collect the discarded trash, sorting and recycling what is still usable far beyond the work of Western waste-collecting companies. They are also Coptic Christians in a predominantly Muslim country and incredibly poor, especially in comparison to the wealthy tourists who visit the city.  Another important part of their economy is maintaining pigs, a casualty of swine flu fears, which majorly impacted them.

All of these strands are present in the story but not as much as I would have liked. Actually I think I would have enjoyed a non-fiction examination of the Zabbaleen written by someone with the skill of Perera because I loved these themes and would like to be more informed about them.

However there is also a story featuring main character Aaron, the titular glass collector who is drawn to the beauty of the glass. I don't know, I just could not connect with this guy. He dreams of a better world, away from his cruel stepbrother and stepfather and starting a romantic relationship with the girl who tends the horses. But he also steals from a shop-owner, lies, and runs away. I generally felt sympathetic toward him as his situation is awful but I was wondering how the story would go. He was not enough to capture my attention nor did the other characters spark for me. Sometimes there were pages where nothing was really happening and the story just stalled. I did not get the feeling that there was an ending that the story was driving to; it was just meandering.

Overall: The story was not as engaging to me due to flat characters but I loved the evocative writing and the idea of this book; I hope I can find more YA books set in locations beyond the USA, Canada, and the UK.

February 2012 Stats

Looking Back at February: I read a lot of library books and have begun making a dent in my Netgalley requests. I am also hoping to either check out from the library or buy those Netgalley books that expired early to give them a chance to impress me. Sadly I have been struggling to make time to read lately although I read some *amazing* books this month (see recommended books below).

Looking Forward to March: I'm kind of starting Netgalley month early (the next one is in April) because I just have so many books on there and I don't want the galleys to expire. I also have The Nightmare Garden by Caitlin Kittredge to read because The Iron Thorn intrigued me so much-this is probably my most highly anticipated book of the month so we'll see how I feel after I finish it. I hope to make more time for reading because I do treasure that time and I can be cranky if I don't get it ;)

Monthly Stats:

Books Read This Month: 24
Pages Read This Month: 6916 pages
Average Length of Book: 288 pages
Average Rating of Book: 3.92
Favorite Book: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey-beautiful cover that lived up to promise!
Other Recommended Reads: The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas; Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake; Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber; Everneath by Brodi Ashton; Legend by Marie Lu


Year Stats:
Total Books Read: 50 (on track to read 300 this year)
Total Pages Read: 14,801 pages
Average Length of Book: 296 pages
Average Rating of Book: 3.92

By Genre:
Mystery/Thriller-0
YA/MG-16
Romance-3
Classics-1
Science Fiction/Fantasy-1
Non-Fiction-2
Historical Fiction-1
Short Stories-0
Other-0

Source:
Home Library-11
Own/Borrowed/Won-1
Booksneeze-0
Netgalley-10
Other ebook source-0
Audiobook-0
Amazon Vine-2

Stats for Previous Months: January;

Books Read:
27. Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede
28. The Sword in the Stone by TH White
29. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
30. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
31. Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell
32. The Vanishing Game by Katie Kae Myers
33. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
34. Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey
35. Cat Burglar in Training by Shelley Munro
36. Double by Jenny Valentine
37. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
38. The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
39. Every Other Day by Jennifer Barnes
40. The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas
41. Prehistoric Clock by Robert Appleton
42. A Waltz at Midnight by Crista McHugh
43. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
44. The Glass Collector by Anna Perera
45. A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
46. Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
47. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
48. Erebos by Ursula Poznanski
49. Legend by Marie Lu
50. The Catch by Rick Jasper

Bloodrose

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
Philomel, 2012
406 pages
YA; Paranormal; Wolves
4/5 stars

Source: Library

My feelings about this series have been so frustrating. Calla is a character I want to root for as I always want to support the main character and to be able to identify with her (or him) and to find some part of myself reflected. But Calla defies that with her hormones directing her actions, with her indecisiveness, with the attempts to portray her as a great feminist when her actions do not support those words. Maybe there is some of me in there but it's not a part I want to search for.

It has been very illuminating reading other feelings about this book, many decrying Calla's personality and actions in much more articulate ways than I can. But there are also some crazy Ren fangirls-I just don't get it (and I mean crazy, as in dictating what they expected Cremer to deliver to them). Shay is the marginally better partner in my opinion although I am extremely anti-alpha males in books, tending to prefer a more sensitive guy who won't get all up in my face and <bleep> every girl he can find.  I can see that Ren has a character arc and experiences some growth but first impressions are lasting and that gross guy always seemed to linger. Meanwhile Shay seems to be separating from Calla, partly due to her desire not to hurt Ren but also due to

While the characters drove me crazy, I continue to admire Cremer's backstory and the history of these characters. It felt rich and like there is so much more for us to discover. It really reflects Cremer's long-time interest in witchcraft and warfare, that led to her Ph.D in early modern history (per the bio on the back cover). Additionally her writing draws me in and pulls me along, as I sped through this book. I was a little bit intimidated by its heft but I sped through it due to the easy writing style and good plotting.

A few last quibbles, starting with the way that time passed. It seemed like everything happened over just a few days, way too fast to be able to process everything. I also think the ending could be quite polarizing; it wasn't to my taste as I would have preferred the opposite fate for Calla (hopefully this makes sense to those of you who've read the book and no I don't mean which boy). I think I'm at peace with the decision but I don't think I would have ended the book like that. It certainly left me with lots to ponder.

A Rogue By Any Other Name

A Rogue By Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean
Avon, 2012
386 pages
Romance; Historical
The First Rule of Scoundrels
3.5/5 stars

Source: Received an ARC from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.

Although I loved MacLean's YA debut, The Season, I found her debut romance Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake extremely unsatisfying. However I know MacLean is a good writer so I wanted to give her new series a shot. Apparently the heroine of this book was jilted in the previous series but you do not have to be familiar with those books to read this one.

And this one started very promisingly. Male lead Michael Bourne lost his entire fortune and land, everything that wasn't entailed, on a bad hand of cards to his mentor and protector, the father of his best friend. After losing everything, he is ostracized from society and driven solely by his need for revenge. He manages to rebuild and even outpace his fortune in only nine years by owning a gaming club and the final piece of the puzzle is Falconwell, which has been attached to Lady Penelope Marbury's dowry.

Penelope is a 28-year-old spinster who was jilted years earlier as her fiance sought a love match and now secretly hopes for the same herself; she wants more. I liked Penelope immediately, which made it all the harder to endure the male lead's, who is supposed to be a HERO, treatment of her. He is absolutely horrid to her. He abducts her with the cold intention of regaining his land; he could have played it much better due to their childhood friendship. He did not have to be a monster; he easily could have wooed and won her. But he chose the easy route, not the right route. And he doesn't stop there. He emotionally distances her while boring me with how much he wanted her body. There are glimpses of a decent person but only that. I cannot believe I kept reading, just to find his redemption.

Luckily that redemption was handled well and is responsible for the high rating here. I never got over my first impression of Michael especially because I loved Penelope so much and wanted more for her.  She wanted and deserved to be passionately loved but Michael just kept breaking her heart into little pieces and proving his unworthiness. I prefer a different kind of man in my romance novel.

I guess I'm kind of getting the impression that MacLean and I just don't click. I have disliked the heroes in both of the books I've read by her and not just in minor ways but in big ways that hindered my enjoyment. I'm glad I gave it another shot but I have been burned too much.