Sidebar! Spectacular Spin-off in Juvie Fiction: Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon

Francine PouletThis won’t count towards my Goodreads challenge of 60 books in 2016, but I wanted to write a quick ditty about it anyway. About a year ago I read most of the Mercy Watson series to the first-grader. She liked them so-so. I liked them more, probably. But you know what I really like? Kate DiCamillo (a hero in children’s literature, seriously) has written a spin-off to Mercy Watson.

Francine Poulet Meets the Ghost Raccoon is an incredibly fun book with a great message about being knocked down, meeting adversity and conquering fears. Life lessons disguised in a funny, silly story (What. I’m a Mom. I’m all over that shit). Oh yes, and at the end you meet the pig who loves to eat buttered toast. I found it randomly when the kid and I field-tripped it down to the big library in DT Seattle. I read it quickly while she was reading other stuff. And convinced her we should check it out to take home.

Even though she sometimes says she “hates reading” (and then I gasp and say, “how DARE you!”) it’s lovely that books I had to read to her last year she’s now reading by herself. She finished it finally tonight and we discussed our favorite parts (you already read it?? she asked in amazement) She enjoyed the book very much and told me her favorite part (when Stella gives Francine some candy). I shared with her mine (when Francine gains the confidence to meet the ghost raccoon a second time). Then she begged to play a video game. So it goes.

Recommended to: First-grade girls who like reading about animals, fairies and magic tree houses.

Awwwoooo Werewolves in Tri-Cities (or Review: Fire Touched)

Fire TouchedTitle: Fire Touched (#9 in the Mercy Thompson series)

Author: Patricia Briggs

Published: 2016

Read: March 2016

And this, dear friends, is why I’m so behind on my reading this year. It’s not that I wasn’t reading, it’s that once I finished this book (and it took me about a day), I immediately needed more Mercy Thompson, so I read books 7 and 8. Then I read books 1 – 5. I started 6, but it’s my least favorite and I think I finally filled that hole that comes when your favorite author, who publishes maybe once every 18 months, releases a long-awaited ninth book in an engaging series.

Here’s the long story. Once upon a time I encountered this book called “Twilight.” You might have heard of it. I, in my new mom haze (I’m blaming it on new momery/back to workery) found it totally engrossing and while I acknowledged the subsequent books in the series were not as good as the first, I really fell for the whole vampire/werewolf shenanigans. I lent it to my work spouse (the most avid reader in the urban fantasy realm that I know) for a read and she came back and she was like *shrug*. She said, “if you want to read a real werewolf book, try THIS” and so I picked up Moon Called. And the rest is history. Goodbye Bella & Edward, HELLO Mercy & Adam.

After discovering this genre, I went through a big urban fantasy phase, read anything that looked remotely interesting and said “vampire” or “werewolf” on the cover. I read some good stuff, but mostly mediocre stuff. After sampling a lot of it, I’ve only kept a few authors that I still follow. Mercy Thompson (who gets an honorable mention in this post of mine) is probably my favorite urban fantasy series. Kate Daniels and The Dresden Files are the other two that I read completely, and love. But let me get back to Fire Touched for a sec.

She’s a shapeshifter car mechanic (she can take a coyote form). Married to the alpha werewolf of a pack in the Tri Cities in eastern Washington (so, you know, it’s local. That’s important, too). And she’s friends with this hipster vampire and her mechanic mentor is a powerful fae. AND she gets in trouble. Like in a good way. In this particular series Mercy find herself trying to protect an old fae that is disguised as a 10-year-old from the big important fae that want him for probably nefarious reasons.

There’s fighting. There’s travelling in the strange fae world where time and space are merely suggestions. There’s internal squawking amongst the werewolves. There’s magical objects that appear out of nowhere and protect you from the big bads. It’s a fun quick read, but seriously if you want to try this you need to start from the bottom, and that would be Moon Called.

My only complaint is this: As part of the Mercy-verse, as the fans say, there is a spin-off series about a couple of werewolves who also seem to find or discover trouble as they solve cases and save people’s hides and what not. And in that series there was one book (see Fair Game) that ended with this epic scene that seemed to set up both series for some incredible …. SOMETHING. And since then I’ve been waiting for that something and I haven’t seen it yet. There seems to be filler. And it’s been about three books I’ve read since then and it finally dawned on me that I was so anticipating this SOMETHING that I wasn’t able to just enjoy the series for what it was. This is one of the reasons why I immediately re-read the previous 2 books after finishing this one. I wanted to re-read without the expectaaions. And it was all still just really good.

Recommended for: Urban fantasy, vampire, werewolf fans. There’s a little bit of romance. Little bit. Forget Twilight. This is the real stuff.

It’s handled. And so is this review of Year of Yes

YoYTitle: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person

Author: Shonda Rhimes

Published in: 2015

Read in: March 2016

I regret not keeping up with this plan of writing something about every book I read when I actually read it. We’re getting back into the books I read in March and now I have to dig into my brain a little deeper.

Let’s start with this … I took over the as editor of MSN TV in the fall of 2013. During that time a few things happened. I started watching more TV. I started reading a lot more about showrunners, producers and television actors. I got hooked on “Scandal.” And I noticed Shonda Rhimes was in the news a lot. Actually, no, I didn’t notice. She just was, and because I started focusing on TV in 2014, it didn’t occur to me that there was a time when she wasn’t in the news a lot.

Well, I stand corrected. I know now how much she had to overcome to begin showing up for interviews. Speaking at panels. Accepting invitations to things. Saying Yes.

3 other things I learned about Shonda:

  • All of the words she couldn’t say herself because of these fears and insecurities, she gave to the character Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy, which makes Sandra Oh leaving the series all that much more bittersweet.
  • She acts like me at PTA meetings, if I went to PTA meetings, which I don’t. Who the heck has time to make brownies from scratch? Shonda doesn’t, and neither do I (unless I want to, which I do, for my family). That’s why I always volunteer to bring bottled water.
  • She can write a commencement speech in like 15 minutes.
  • Bonus, she does a Wonder Woman stance to make her feel more confident. I tried this. It kinda works.

Recommended for: TGIT Fans

A surprise find (Review of Too Good To Be True)

TGTBTTitle: Too Good To Be True

Author: Kristan Higgins

Published: 2009

Read in: April 2016

I discovered Kristan Higgins a few years ago, I was lucky enough to have that time, when you first discover a writer, to read a backlog of their previous work in a short time span. Of course, once you’ve caught up you’ve got to wait like everyone else for their next book. Lucky for me Higgins is a pretty prolific writer, publishing twice a year (Thanks, Kristan! You’re also fun to follow on Facebook).

I recently recommended “If You Only Knew,” (released last year) to a friend, who enjoyed it. She asked if there were other KH books I’d recommend and so I went though the list and gave her a couple of titles, with the caveat that the others are not quite like IYOK, but still fun distractions. In my scrolling through all of her previous titles, imagine my surprise when I discovered i had MISSED one of her old books. The book I missed, “Too Good To Be True” was published in 2009 so about a year or so before I discovered her. Like several of her early titles, it takes place in small-town Connecticut. But unlike others, fictional Peterson, Connecticut is smack dab in the middle of all of the towns that surround MY hometown of West Hartford! On more than one occasion do the main characters travel to the very town I grew up. How did I miss this book?!?

Oh, and the protagonist, Grace, is a teacher. At a prep school. A private boarding school. Much like the one I went to! How did I miss this book?!?

Quick summary. Grace’s younger sister has started dating Grace’s ex-fiance. To make everyone feel more comfortable about this uncomfortable situation, Grace fakes having a boyfriend. Also, she meets her new neighbor, a nice guy who happens to be an ex-con. Yikes. I loved reading this much later on in years because I’ve seen how Higgins’ style and stories have evolved over the years, and this story definitely feels like her older stuff, with a great best friend, quirky family, quirky pet, lots of laughs and a not-so-surprising love interest. I guess her newer stuff have the same qualities, but with a little more naughty bits (not really necessary but I have this theory that writers have been told that’s what people want, so that’s what people get.)

All this time I wondered if KH would ever set a story based on my Connecticut. Little did I know that she did. Fun.

Recommended for: Romantic comedy fans.

Treat Yo’ Self! or Review: Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

modern romanceTitle: Modern Romance

Author Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg

Published: 2015

Read in :February 2016

What better book to read during the Valentine’s Day deluge than a book about what it’s like being single in today’s iPhone/online world? Aziz Ansari, with the help a lot of help of data scientists a book right up my alley … funny Aziz quips and anecdotes mixed with a lot of data, like legit studies and focus groups and stuff.

If you don’t know much about Aziz defiitely check out his Netflix series “Master of None” where you’ll even see some of the trials and tribulations he writes about in the book come to life. I enjoyed reading through this, the pain and suffering of finding a suitable partner in this day and age, mainly because it is sort of like an archaeological study to me. I somehow managed to bypass all of the match.com/online dating stuff that happened in the late 90s/early 2000s because I met the husband probably right on the cusp of that. Lucky me, eh. Because I’m pretty sure I would have been terrible at it.

I also like that the duo interviewed grandmas and grandpas and they talked about how they met, and then when abroad to different countries. The Tokyo singles scene was most fascinating to me (the government actually subsidizes some singles events in an effort to increase the marriage rate in japan), and makes me wonder if some of the attitudes of young (or even not so young) people there are similar Taiwan, where my relatives live.

So, quick review. Good book if you like data and numbers. Don’t expect a funny book about love and sex by a comedian because this isn’t really it. It’s more textbooky with the added benefit of Aziz’s comedic tendencies within the writing. And food. Not gonna lie, made ramen noodles twice this month, after not having that stuff more than once in the last year. Mmmmm ramen.

Recommended for:  data nerds and non-romantics. Or singles who want to read something and be like “Yes! That’s so true! That totally happened to me!”

Notes to self for the post-apocalyptic lifestyle (or Review: Station Eleven)

station elevenTitle: Station Eleven

Author: Emily St. John Mandel

Published: 2014

Read: April 2016

It’s been a very slow spring for reading. My usual reading time, aka, the commute, has been cut short because I find myself doing more laptop typing than Kindle reading. My nighttime reading time has been replaced with TV watching and other such sundries (like recipe searching!). Also, quite simply I haven’t found many good books that I’m dying to start. Even though the ones I’ve been reading this year have been pretty great. I’m still gonna try to do this review every book I read thing, though, starting with this one I couldn’t put down by Emily St. John Mandel.

Let’s get one thing straight. Should some apocalyptic event occur during my lifetime, based on the novels I’ve read over the years, I’ve pretty much accepted that I’m going to be one of the first to go. I just don’t have the survival skills needed to be good at tough-living. I don’t know how to shoot a gun. My knife skills are sub-par. I can’t drive stick. Crossfit has gotten me a little bit stronger, but I’m not sure that the ability to do a lot of burpees is going to help save my hide when the poop hits the fan. Sorry, dear family, you are on your own.

So why am I fascinated by post-apocalyptic stories? I wish I knew. Station Eleven starts slow with a variety of separate storylines. The book starts prior to a sudden flu pandemic that wipes out the majority of the human race. A famous actor, Arthur Leander, suffers a heart attack while on stage just hours before Toronto is hit with a flu pandemic that wipes out the majority of the human race. Years later you also meet Kristen, who once worked with Arthur (on the same production, his last production). You meet the man who tried to save Arthur’s life, Arthur’s ex-wives, all the while wondering how these storylines relate to one another. Continue reading, connect the dots and be rewarded with a suspenseful confrontation and aftermath that makes you wish you had one more chapter to read.

Also, memo to self: Make sure the kid knows how to drive a manual transmission. Maybe give her some cross-bow training. You never know.

She’s the one that’s cool (Review: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost) by Felicia Day)

You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia DayTitle: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost)

Author: Felicia Day

Published: 2015

Ready: January 2015

So the back story. I like Felicia Day, like was really into her Web stuff. When I went to Comic Con a few years ago I got myself on the Geek & Sundry PR list so I could get into their party and spy on her and her cool friends. I was the total nerd in the corner, but, I mean, I was a nerd in a room full of nerds. That is actually cool. I also went to just one panel at Emerald City Comic Con another few years ago, and of course it was hers.

I mean, this song:

And, the husband didn’t know he was a Felicia Day fan, but watched Eureka and still watches Supernatural (ha! just outed you, honey) and didn’t make the connection that this cool girl I kept talking about was actually the same cool girl that was in these shows that he watched.

So when her memoir came out, he watched some interview about her and then was relaying back to me facts and stuff about her life and I’m like, yeah! I know she was home-schooled. Cool, right. I didn’t know she was a violin prodigy, and graduated from college early with a double degree in music and math. Cool again!

Two personal chapters, around her harrowing work schedule that caused extreme anxiety (or was it the other way around?), and Internet negativity and her experience with #GamerGate. It has always astounded me the negativity people can be when sitting behind a monitor. I mean, Felicia Day, people. How much sweeter, cuter, nerd-friendlier can you be? And when she describes the horrific things she went through (getting Doxx’d, getting restraining orders against stalkers) … gah! Mean people suck.

With the exception of the chapters I just mentioned, this book was a lighthearted look into all that she’s done for people who love nerdy stuff. Personally, because the husband and I am also a fan of her non-Web stuff, I would have taken a glimpse into her non-Web life. You kind of want to hear a few fun anecdotes about Hollywood. Like, how she met Joss Whedon. Some background on “Dr. Horrible.” She is such a non-name dropper, it’s a bit of a letdown. (Your “friend” from “How I Met Your Mother,” the one who got you access to the stage so you could borrow a plant for “The Guild”? That was Allyson Hannigan, right? Because, you know, Buffy, right? AMIRIGHT?)

Recommended for: Fans of Felicia, Buffy, Supernatural and Geekdom.

 

“The right note sounds right and the wrong note sounds wrong” – Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. StorkBook review number 6, the final book I read in January.

Title: Marcelo in the Real World

Author: Francisco X. Stork

Published: 2011

Read: January 2016

Here’s the quick back story on this one … my friend Kate (Kate who first recommended The Hunger Games to me and I am forever in her debt for that), recommended a long long time ago. How do I know? I wrote it down in OneNote in a file I titled “Books from Kate.” Late last year she recommended it to me again and so I finally added it to my library list.

Not gonna lie. I put it down a few times within the first 25% of the book or so. Marcelo is a 17 year old entering the summer before his final year in school. He shows characteristics of Asperger’s, with a knack for reading and memorizing scripture and internal soundtrack playing in his mind. Rather than spend the summer at his special school doing something he loves (working with horses), he finds himself working in the mailroom of the law firm that his father co-owns.

I kept putting it down because of the people that Marcelo meets. People are mean! But the interesting part is that the author adds in additional elements: a legal case, a smart and talented girl in the mailroom. Interesting discussions on faith and God via a Rabbi who acts as a teacher and therapist. What won me over is how Marcelo’s innocence plays into recognizing right and wrong in a topsy-turvy world.

Nice and smooth prose. Easy to read (it is a young adult book). While the antagonistic characters were fairly formulaic, Stork provided enough back story to make it interesting. And the good guys (Jasmine and Rabbi Heschel come to mind) were full of thoughtful dialogue that added to the richness of Marcelo’s character.

Recommended to: Young Adult fans

 

Review: The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

51wmXrLAHOL__SX324_BO1,204,203,200_Title: The Scam

Authors: Janet Evanovich & Lee Goldberg

Published: September 2015

Read: January 2015

Here is the premise of this series. Kate O’Hare is a by-the-book, bad-ass FBI agent tracking down a con artist Nicolas Fox, who’s life revolves around elaborate heists and scams. She catches him, and then in a series of events that unfold in the first book, the pair end up working together clandestinely to take down bad guys using the same con-artist/illegal tactics that special agents are not supposed to do.

Anyway, this is the fourth in the series that is dependable for its comic writing, elaborate hoaxes, excellent chemistry between Fox & O’Hare (you get it, right, FOX and o’HARE), and even though I suspect things will work out in the end it’s still a little bit (not a lot) suspenseful. Kate is my kind of protaganist. No nonsense, ass-kicking, junk-food eating who holds her own against, well, everyone. Also love the great side characters (notably, Kate’s father, Jake, former Special Forces).

So, it’s quick reading. Easily finish a book in a day. I recommend starting from the top (The Heist) to get the full experience. Warning on Book #4: Cliffhanger, which is a bummer because I’ve caught up to the publishing of the series and will have to wait to find out what happens. Boo.

Recommended for easy beach (or bus) reading

“That’s not a name. That’s a major appliance” (Review: So That Happened by Jon Cryer)

Title: So That Happened

Author: Jon Cryer

Published: 2015

Read: January 2015

I read an excerpt of this in “The Hollywood Reporter” last year (a funny story about Charlie Sheen) and knew this would have to go on my list of to-reads. While “Pretty in Pink” is probably my third favorite John Hughes YA films (after TBC and SC of course), Duckie has always been one of my favorite characters. And what a treat this memoir is because Jon Cryer dedicates TWO chapters to his time playing him.

This is a very fun read, particularly because, while Cryer is recently known as the Emmy-winning Alan Harper from the now defunct “Two and a Half Men”, prior to that he found success on Broadway and, as I’ve learned, a lot less success (but at least he found work) in film and TV.

Now let’s take a break from this review for a little personal anecdote. I told the husband what I was reading and he sorta rolled his eyes. We used to watch “Men” together back when it was good (which, reading the memoir, I’ve determined that “it was good” back when Charlie Sheen was sober). But we did get tired of it and moved on.  But the husband was like, Jon Cryer, whatever. And then when I mentioned to him that blip about how when Ashton Kutcher joined the “Men” cast there was an awkward moment Jon was trying to avoid on account of Jon having dated Kutcher’s then wife back in the 80s (yes! these are the types of fun stories included in the memoir!), the husband was like, “oh yeah they were in a movie together. He played a photographer.” and i was like A-HA! You DID see Jon Cryer movies! And finally he readily admitted to having seen a few. I don’t know why I felt vindicated. Maybe he shouldn’t have rolled his eyes in the first place.

Anyway, good stories from Cryer. My particular favorite is his recalling of a stage performance of Sondheim’s “Company” at Lincoln Center, which he performed along with Stephen Colbert, Martha Plimpton, Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, among others. I love this story because the talented NPH ALSO brings up this experience in HIS memoir, which I read last year and it was enjoyable to read both actor’s perspectives. Mainly, Cryer thought he was woefully unprepared and everyone else was great. NPH believed HE was woefully unprepared compared to the other cast. All can agree that Patti LuPone was amazing.

I also appreciated Cryer’s take on his character Duckie. It would be an easy out to speculate this crazily dressed, animated, somewhat effeminate and just plain different high school student is gay (which, according to the memoir, Molly Ringwald alludes to many years later). It would be more accurate to follow Cryer’s beliefs, that he’s just who he is, and there are young men (and women) at that age of high school who are dealing with a mix of what society expects of them, what they truly want to be, and Duckie expressed himself as an individual (and perhaps on a subconscious level, was playing himself in some ways). Not everyone will be the typical boy. I think it was smart of Cryer to recognize that. I guess that’s why they pay him the big bucks.

Recommend to 80s teen movie fans, or TV fans.