February 2011 Group Review

Amulet: The Stonekeeper
by Kazu Kibuishi
1 February 2011
see my review here

Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse
by Kazu Kibuishi
1 February 2011
see my review here

Amulet: The Cloud Searchers
by Kazu Kibuishi
1 Febraury 2011
see my review here

The Changeling Prince
by Vivian Vande Velde
1 February 2011
This was in a bit of a different writing style than other VVV books, but it was pretty good nevertheless. I didn't find myself laughing aloud like I usually do when reading VVV, but it story was interesting and the main character had an unusual and refreshing conflict. I had no idea what to expect from this book when I started it, so I wasn't disappointed. It had been recommended to me by WriterGirl, so I knew it had to be pretty good, but I didn't really know what the story was about. I did, however read a funny little anecdote on VVV's website about how her editor picked the name and the main character was neither a changeling nor a prince. Overall, I liked her other books better, but this was perfectly good.

Cloaked in Red
by Vivian Vande Velde
1 February 2011
see my review here

The Secret Hour
by Scott Westerfeld
6 February 2011
see my review here


Flight, Volume 1
by Kazu Kibuishi
9 February 2011
This book was totally different from any other book I've ever read. It was such a cool book because of all the different styles that were at once separate and connected. Let me explain what I'm talking about. Kazu Kibuishi and about 10-15 (I'm not sure of the exact number) other illustrators created mini-graphic novels, like the graphic novel equivalent of short stories. They all, whether literally or metaphorically, had to be related in some way to the theme of flight. There were a lot of wordless stories, which probably related in some way to my extensive use of wordless picture books during PBM, but whether with or without words, they were all beautiful. This book is obviously not for everyone, but it was definitely for me. I'm currently reading the second volume out of eight.

Instead of Three Wishes
by Megan Whalen Turner
9 February 2011
I enjoyed this book very much. It was not very long, but each story was fun, different, and interesting. They often made me look for more and kept me thinking after I finished. A couple made me think that perhaps she was getting at something beyond the surface story. Overall, it was nice to read, although not spectacular.

A True Princess
by Diane Zhaler
13 February 2011
I expected this to be a fairly ordinary retelling of the Princess and the Pea. However, it was not even close. Zhaler took the original Princess and the Pea story and used it as a basic skeleton to write a completely new story. The original fairy tale wasn't really the point of the story. There was a lot more substance and story than I was expecting. A good job by Diane Zhaler. I would recommend to  middle school readers.

Animal Farm
by George Orwell
14 February 2011
I was reading this for the first time, but I knew some of the basic story from when my brother read this in school. It was very, very, good. I can't decide whether I like Animal Farm or 1984 better. I have no other comments for now.

Incarceron
by Catherine Fisher
15 February 2011
Filled with exciting, page-turning action, Incarceron was far less creepy than I had expected and feared. It leaves you on a cliffhanger leading into the second book, Sapphique. I enjoyed it very much and am planning to begin Sapphique in the next few days.

Touching Darkness
by Scott Westerfeld
16 February 2011
see my review here

Blue Noon
by Scott Westerfeld
18 February 2011
see my review here

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Junot Diaz
22 February 2011
see comments in earlier posts. I'm a little ways in right now, and although Diaz is obviously a skilled writer, I'm not enjoying it at all. Not recommended.

Unexpected Magic
by Diana Wynne Jones
25 February 2011
Another book of short stories (I'm reading a lot of them lately), this time by the wonderful Diana Wynne Jones. It's a bit longer than I expected it to be, but the stories are great. Most of the stories at the beginning are just barely removed from reality so they seem totally realistic. They get slowly more and more obviously fictional as the book progresses. I'm about halfway through right now, and really enjoying it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

So 15 total books in February, and I loved almost all of them. Not bad.

PBM overview is coming up tomorrow. Vote for your favorite PBM books!