http://www.parenthetical.net Musings and snark about YA lit, libraries, and geekdom, from an overly opinionated middle school librarian. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:32:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en How I Paid for College is one of my top 5 funniest books. (Not sure what the others are, honestly. Gordon Korman's Son of Interflux and I Want to Go Home! are in there, for sure.) It is my standard Beach Reading Recommendation, and if I haven't ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/08/25/sequel-summer-attack-of-the-theater-people-by-marc-acito/ I just finished a wonderful book called Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. I'll wait on the review, because the book doesn't come out until October, and I don't want you to forget about it because you can't read it right now. (I don't have a lending copy, unfortunately.) ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/08/19/fantasy-birth-control/ This one's easy to sum up: Jacobs (who gets paid for his OCD, basically -- he lets weird projects take over his life and then writes books about them; his last was about reading the entire encyclopedia cover-to-cover) spent a year living by the Bible's rules as literally as possible. ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/29/the-year-of-living-biblically-by-a-j-jacobs/ Fanboy (we never learn his real name) is a fifteen-year-old loner. His only friend is Cal, who shares his love of superhero comics and intellectual conversation, but since Cal's also an athlete, they move in different social universes. His mother has remarried "the step-fascist" and they're having a ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/24/the-astonishing-adventures-of-fanboy-and-goth-girl-by-barry-lyga/ A Grown-Up Table diversion into comics... Y is over. (Well, it's been over for awhile, but I wait for the trade paperback compilations of the issues, and I just recently picked up the last one.) It's one of the first series I fell in love with, and the ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/23/y-the-last-man-by-brian-k-vaughan-pia-guerra/ During the school year, I mostly read for work: how will I know what to give my kids if I don’t tear through as many YA novels as possible? Consequently, I almost never read sequels; I got enough of a taste with the first book, so I feel guilty if ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/23/sequel-summer-the-off-season-by-catherine-gilbert-murdock/ During the school year, I mostly read for work: how will I know what to give my kids if I don’t tear through as many YA novels as possible? Consequently, I almost never read sequels; I got enough of a taste with the first book, so I feel guilty if ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/15/sequel-summer-out-of-the-wild-by-sarah-beth-durst/ This ARC* randomly found its way into my life, and I picked it from my "haven't read yet" shelf to take on a recent camping trip to Acadia National Park because it takes place in Maine, and I'm a sucker for reading a book while surrounded by its setting. ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/11/madapple-by-christina-meldrum/ After finding out that John Green might be coming to speak at my school* (eee!), I grabbed his first book, Looking for Alaska. You might recall that I loved the shit out of his second book, An Abundance of Katherines. This is a very different book -- weightier; ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/10/looking-for-alaska-by-john-green/ During the school year, I mostly read for work: how will I know what to give my kids if I don't tear through as many YA novels as possible? Consequently, I almost never read sequels; I got enough of a taste with the first book, so I feel guilty ... http://www.parenthetical.net/2008/07/06/sequel-summer-people-of-sparks-by-jeanne-duprau/