Dear Patrick Ness,

The Ask and the Answer – Patrick Ness – 528 pages

Todd and Viola are at Mayor Prentiss’ mercy.  Forcibly separated, he dangles each one’s life and safety in front of the other to keep them in line, and their paths begin to diverge, one on each end of New Prentisstown’s political extremes.  Trapped and tricked, they must each reconcile their own heinous actions and overcome the seeds of doubt that plague them.  Can their trust and love for each other endure long enough to save themselves and New World?

You did it again.  You’re like the king of the cliffhangers.  I don’t know if I can take it.  The Ask and the Answer was so desolate and horrifying and so nearly triumphant, but it’s the middle of a trilogy, and everybody knows that the middle of a trilogy is all about getting the protagonists into even worse trouble than they were in before.  But really all that matters are Todd and Viola, and their faith, and their phoenix-like ability to rise again and again.

Once again, your ability to manipulate me was infuriating and masterful and brilliant.  You push the envelope of YA in this book, exploring Todd’s weakness and letting him stray farther and farther away from the courage and human decency that made him so appealing in Book 1.  It’s not often that the hero of a novel for teens swings so freely back and forth between righteous and monstrous–it was fascinating and awful at once.  Set at counterpoint with Viola, who made a vicious effort to hold her moral ground in spite of what was going on around her, Todd’s narrative seemed all the more heartbreakingly brutal and their reunion even more intense.  I wish I could hear your Noise, so I could find out what’s going to happen in Book 3.  The wait will be excrutiating, but I look forward to it.  Five stars once again.

Love,

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Books this year: 98

Pages this year: 19,930

Dear Patrick Ness,

The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness – 496 pages

To Todd, life seems simple.  He knows that the Noise germ caused men’s thoughts to be as loud as voices.  He knows that same germ killed all the women on New World, including his mother.  He knows that the Specks who released the germ all died in the war, and that in a month’s time he will turn thirteen and become a man.  Then, when Todd and his dog Manchee stumble upon a spot of silence in the Noise, everything he thought he knew will change forever.

Sometimes a book just pulls you in and eats you up and breaks you into a million pieces and spits you back out again feeling like you’ve been run over by a truck except you really liked being run over by that truck.  The Knife of Never Letting Go is one of those books.  I knew it was going to be something special from the first few pages, and tonight I just barreled through the last three quarters of it like my life depended on finding out what happened next.  And it sort of did.  Once again, I was Bastian sitting in the attic of the school.  I sobbed like the world was ending and had to take the book with me to the bathroom (poo, Todd?) because I couldn’t put it down, and I feel wrung dry and tied in knots and changed.

I’m starting to ramble.  Let me try to reel it in.  Your premise isn’t quite like anything I’ve read before, which is a miracle unto itself.  You’ve crafted something unique and frightening that’s strengthening at the same time, which is how books about such strife should be.  Also, you get automatic points for writing in the present tense–I LOVE present tense writing with more enthusiasm than seems entirely necessary.  On top of all that, your characters (especially Todd and Manchee) are so intensely real to me.  You’ve captured a huge variety of ways in which men could react to such bizarre circumstances–the coldly evil Mayor, the lunatic preacher, the hotheaded Cillian and kindhearted Ben who were ready to die to protect their adopted son from the town’s darkness…it’s a frighteningly plausible world.  I could almost hate you for the cliff you’ve left me hanging over, except that one of my delightful friends is going to loan me an ARC of the sequel, so that I don’t die of waiting.  You’ve done something spectacular, and I thank you for it.  Five effing stars.

Love,

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Books this year: 97

Pages this year: 19,402

Dear Nagaru Tanigawa,

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – Nagaru Tanigawa

When Haruhi Suzumiya announced to the class on the first day of high school that she was looking for aliens, time-travelers and espers, Kyon just thought she was a little odd.  When she roped Kyon into her scheme to create a school club that wasn’t boring like all the others, he thought she was pretty crazy, but couldn’t stand against her irrepressible will.  Then Kyon discovered that it was up to him to keep Haruhi from subconsciously destroying the world whenever she got bored–and that’s when things got REALLY complicated.  A wildly popular series in Japan, now debuting in English.

How do I express the extreme fondness I have for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya?  You’ve hit on something that isn’t really like anything else.  It’s all in there–a bit of lowbrow humor, a bit of sarcastic narration, a bit of irresistable charm, and a heavy helping of supernatural phenomena, all held together by the bizarre and unpredictable force of nature that is Haruhi herself.  It’s a quirky and fantastic package that I’ve enjoyed in all its forms–this original illustrated novel, and the subsequent anime and manga that have been translated to English.

I will admit, though, that it probably isn’t for everyone–the narrative style and the cultural and pop-cultural references might be a turn-off for some Western readers.  I watch enough anime and read enough manga that I’m not bothered when I don’t understand things, and outlandishly pleased when I do get the joke, but for someone who’s never seen an anime or read a manga or a Japanese light novel, the unfamiliarity of everything could be distracting.  That said, I think that for the right audience, you’ve written an absolute gem.  I’m so glad it’s been translated, and I’m super-excited for the second volume to come out!  Five stars.

Love,

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Dear Hitoshi Okuda,

No Need for Tenchi! and The All New Tenchi Muyo! – Hitoshi Okuda

Seventeen-year-old Tenchi Masaki used to have a normal, quiet life–until he woke up a sleeping demon who turned out to be from outer space.  One by one, five more alien women show up on his doorstep to complicate his once peaceful life.  These manga series are a continuation of a classic anime from the early 90′s, originally published in Japan as short monthly installments and collected into trade paperback format for American readers.

I’m a huge fan of the whole Tenchi Muyo! franchise–I did the research to make sense of its many continuities, hunted down English translations of novels, and of course watched every episode, spinoff and movie both subbed and dubbed for the full effect.  Aside from the original 13 episodes of the anime OVA, which precede your storyline, I like your No Need for Tenchi! and The All New Tenchi Muyo! the best out of all that Tenchi stuff.  Which, of course, means I like it a whole lot, and I re-read the volumes at random at least once a week.  So where do I start?  There are so many volumes that it seemed easier to review your run as a whole rather than one at a time, and yet I love them so much that I want to give them the attention they deserve.  Still, pragmatism won out, so here I am reviewing a total of 22 volumes of awesome Tenchi-ness.

Let me start with the storytelling.  Tenchi Muyo! is inherently kind of absurd–I mean, all these lunatic women from outer space somehow manage to fall in with a kid living in the remote mountains of Japan?  And then they all fall in love with him?  And THEN he turns out to be part alien himself?  Come on.  But that absurdity is one of the great things about the show, and one of the aspects you embraced so fully.  From little Sasami thinking she’ll die if she hiccups too much to bubblehead Mihoshi trying to learn to drive an Earth car to genius Washu designing an artificial intelligence that plays ridiculous pranks on her–not to mention all the one-time characters and bizarre situations that happen throughout your run–you’ve got more than just a touch of the absurd here.  The reason it works so well is that it’s tempered with delicious melodrama.  Ryoko, in all her hot alien/demon/space pirate splendor, is one of my favorite characters, tied with her mother Washu.  You seem to agree with me, because your books are Ryoko- and Washu-heavy, and you bring out the most hidden warmth and softness in both of them that I could hope for.  Of course, you write the other characters with tender skill, as well–even prissy princess Ayeka, who I generally could take or leave, blossoms into a woman who’s not only courageous and caring to save the man she loves, but also to save her friends.  Swoon!  Of course, the best part is the relationship between Tenchi, Ryoko and Ayeka.  Since they’re the two main rivals for his love, fans inevitably pick some kind of side–I myself think Tenchi belongs with Ryoko, and you give me enough amazing stories of connection and emotion between them that I can imagine he’ll choose her when he grows up a little.  Of course, you give Ayeka her limelight too, and don’t do any more than imply a future outcome, which is just as it should be.  Tenchi choosing a girl would be like…Charlie Brown finally kicking that football.

Then there’s the art.  You’ve got this fluid style that’s ostensibly cuter than the anime–the eyes are bigger, and the noses sometimes disappear in their little kawaii faces even when they’re angry–but you’ve got a command of page layout that I covet and envy.  You always know when to zoom in or out, how much of someone’s face or body to show in order to get the emotional effect across.  Like how you know I’m gonna cheer out loud when, in a dire situation, at the bottom just before the page turn you give me a glimpse of Ryoko’s foot or Tenchi’s sword or something else I recognize right away, and tadaa!  The drama of the page turn!  You’ve also got a way with silhouettes that makes me want to paper my walls with them.  Like your writing, your art is a mix of absurd and dramatic, and it serves the story well.

Ok, this is just turning into a long-winded love-fest, and clearly I think about Tenchi Muyo! and your manga a lot, so I’ll wrap it up.  You’ve got it all here–a little campy, a little corny, a little hyperdramatic–and in the end, it’s all about love.  Five happy happy stars.

Love,

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Dear Cory Doctorow,

So excellent!  Little Brother was awesome, informative, thrilling, scary, and sometimes even heartwarming.  I loved the level of tech talk you used, and the friendliness of it–that’s a hard line to walk.  I also loved the voice of the main character, it felt very honest to me.  The rallying cry of “Don’t trust anyone over 25!” made me feel a little old, though.  I wonder, if the Department of Homeland Security took over Boston, would I be on the dissenting radical side?  I hope so.  I give you five stars for this one, even though I’m 26 and therefore untrustworthy.

Love,

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Dear Carrie Ryan,

I could not put this book down! I mean, I did, because I had to go to work and stuff, but…definitely a page-turner! I was shocked to find that it isn’t exactly the mythy/folky fantasy that the title and cover suggest. I mean, to some degree it is, but it’s also something else very different, that I won’t reveal, so as not to spoil any surprises. Since it doesn’t even come out ’til ’09, and all. Anyway, back to something resembling a review. I found it consistently intriguing, but not ove…more I could not put The Forest of Hands and Teeth down!  I mean, I did, because I had to go to work and stuff, but…definitely a page-turner!  I was shocked to find that it isn’t exactly the mythy/folky fantasy that the title and cover suggest.  I mean, to some degree it is, but it’s also something else very different, that I won’t reveal, so as not to spoil any surprises for folks other than you.  Since it doesn’t even come out ’til ’09, and all.  Anyway, back to something resembling a review.  I found it consistently intriguing, but not overly dramatic, though the last few chapters tended toward a Hamlet-like death toll.  I’m still reconciling myself to where you left the ending–I think I want to like it, but I haven’t gotten there yet.  All in all, this book was a little creepy, kind of detached (in a pleasant way), and altogether a great five-star read.

Love,

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Dear Lauren Mclaughlin,

Ok, I know I just said in my last review that I tend to give four and five stars, but not lower. Well, here’s a low one for you blog readers out there. There was nothing objectively wrong with the writing, I want to say that, at least. The premise was also relatively interesting. Unfortunately, the way it was handled…well, I found it pretty offensive.

A quick summary, from my point of view:  Cycler is about this girl, Jill, who turns into a boy every month for the four days preceding her period. Hence the title, I guess. Anyway, during those four days, she stays inside the house in order to keep the transformation a secret, and everyone outside her family thinks that she gets monthly blood transfusions for some unspecified disease. So, this idea is okay so far. Except that the four-day-male part of her has developed his own personality–Jack. The Jack-and-Jill thing should have been my first warning, perhaps, but I’m an amenable reader, so whatever. I took it in stride.

My main problem with this book is the strenuous gender differentiation. Jill does specific meditation to banish Jack from her consciousness when she wakes up after those four days, repeating her mantra: “I am all girl.” She’s obsessed with boys and the prom, she concocts an asinine and gender stereotyped plan to woo the boy of her dreams, and she condescends to fat girls and bad dressers. Jack, on the other hand, is obsessed with masturbation, porn, and Jill’s best friend, whose picture he keeps under the pillow.

Then, of course, we reach the drama of the story. Jill’s crush turns out to be bisexual–which makes Jill feel ill, but she’s determined to get over it in order to have him. Jack sneaks out to spend a night making out with Jill’s best friend, and when Jill tattles on him, he gets locked up during the next cycle with bars on the windows and security systems on the door. Soon Jill is so confused by Jack’s feelings that she kisses her best friend, is disgusted, and avoids both the friend and the crush like the plague. Jack comes again on prom night, and manages to escape his prison-like conditions and his insane mother through some ridiculous trickery of his father…..it was so bizarre. Anyway, he goes to the prom, dances with the best friend, changes back to Jill….and she and the best friend and the crush ride off into the sunset, not in any kind of good way.

The treatment of gender, the treatment of non-hetero sexualities, the treatment of sex, and the ridiculous caricature of evil parents ruined what might have been an interesting novel, and though I want to give you  the benefit of the doubt, Ms. Mclaughlin, and think that you might have been trying to make some sort of comment about all of that by the end, it wasn’t nearly strong enough to overcome my general disgust. If it kept going, if it explored the relationships that Jill, Jack, the friend and the crush could have after escaping the evil mother, if the completely henpecked father could have risen up and supported both his children, the whole thing might have been redeemed. Maybe. If it was really great. But as it is…well, it was just a book embracing the most embarassing and distressing gender stereotypes out there.  One star.

Respectfully (because “Love” sounds cheeky after a negative review),

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Dear Adam Rex,

I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of you until this past Book Expo in LA.  Part of my job with ABC this year was to help run the art auction at our annual BEA event, and my favorite piece of art in the auction was yours!  It was an illustration of these awesome little aliens coming out of a store, and I totally loved it, but the price got too high by the end of the auction for me to take it home.  I did remember the title of the book it was from, though–The True Meaning of Smekday.  I was intrigued, but too busy to make it to the library.  Fortunately, not long after BEA, I happened to be traveling, and the tiny book stand in South Station had your book in its children’s section!  I bought it, read it on the bus, and LOVED it! The writing is great, just funny enough, and the art is fantastic too–especially the little comic in the middle. I was a tad confused/disappointed by the very very end, but overall it was fantastic!  Five stars, in spite of the ending.

Love,

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