Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
3.75 stars

Reasons for reading: I've been meaning to since it came out; Medical Condition book for the What's in a Name Challenge

From the jacket flap:

"If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss.
She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps.
She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.
She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place.
She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn’t be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can’t possibly remember.
She’d know about her mom’s new family.
She’d know about her dad’s fiancée.
She wouldn’t have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already.
She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her.
She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back.
But Naomi picked heads."

First lines: "Above all, mine is a love story. And like most love stories, this one involves chance, gravity, a dash of head trauma."

My thoughts: This was a really interesting, enjoyable book. Amnesia can be such a soap-opera cliche, but I thought Zevin handled it well. After falling down a flight of stairs, Naomi can't remember a thing from the past 4 years. I found it to be a fascinating concept - if you didn't know anything about your current life, would you still think it was worthwhile? Would you still like your friends and hobbies? Would you like yourself? I think I'd still be okay, but maybe not. Naomi has lost 4 very important years - from 12 to 16, so she's basically an entirely different person than the one she remembers.

It's also interesting the way people react to her amnesia. Will is a wonderful friend, making her CDs and DVDs and writing to her to try and jog her memory (and, contrary to the blurb, patiently reminding her of things). Her dad tries to help by making rather useless lists of what she can't remember, but overall he does a pretty good job of trying to help her through an impossible situation. Her dumb jock boyfriend, Ace, asks if she remembers something and then rambles on about it, even when she says no. And, of course, he wants them to start having sex again, which in Naomi's mind she's never done before. Her mean girl "friends" use her weakness to get even meaner. But since she's a blank slate, Naomi's willing to get to know new people and try new things, which is very good for her.

Then there's beautiful, tortured James. Rather like a duckling bonding with the first creature it sees, he's the only person there when Naomi trips and he accompanies her to the hospital. From then on, she's in love with him and this leads where all girls being in love with tortured souls always leads. Can you tell I found that part a bit annoying? But it does fit in with the story, I'm just tired of teen girls falling for bad boys!! (He's not really bad, but he's pretty messed up.)

And, fortunately, despite a lot of misunderstandings, things turn out very well, even better than they were before Naomi's memory vanished, since she seems (apart from her friendship with Will) to have been a perfect example of teenage brattiness.

Favourite section: Naomi and her family are watching a nature documentary that has just stated that, before mating, a male porcupine will cover the female from head to toe "with his own urine."

"His own urine?" Dad asked. "Isn't that redundant? Who else's urine might he be using?"

The TV narrator advised "never getting too near porcupines mating," which seemed like sound, if obvious, advice to me.

My thoughts: Despite some angst, an interesting and overall enjoyable read.

Review: City of Bones

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading: this series is all the rage; Body part book for What's in a Name? Challenge

Synopsis: "When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . ."

First line: " 'You've got to be kidding me,' the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest."

My thoughts: This was a book that kept me reading well into the night! I think it would be great to recommend to girlie Twilight fans and also to boys - it has vamps, werewolves, faeries, demons, slaying, flying motorcyles, and a tiny bit of romance. And Clary is a great heroine - she quickly adapts to numerous scary, life-changing, unbelievable events. She's very brave, determined to save her mother and also her friend Simon when he gets himself into a shape-changing mess.

Like most first-in-a-series books, a LOT happens in City of Bones - the world of Shadowhunters and Downworlders has to be set up, as well as the Uprising that caused a rift between two factions of hunters. There was a lot to take in, but it didn't feel overwhelming. And there were enough action-packed scenes to make it worth reading through the set-up stuff.

The verdict: I can see why this series is so popular with teens and I'm glad I read the book so I can recommend it to them. I'll probably also read the rest of the series, City of Bones definitely leaves you hanging off a cliff at the end.

Review: The Beach House

The Beach House by Jane Green
3 stars

Reasons for reading: I've enjoyed all of Green's books; Building title for the What's in a Name? Challenge

Summary: "Nan Powell is a free-spirited, sixty-five-year-old widow who's not above skinny-dipping in her neighbors' pools when they're away and who dearly loves her Nantucket home. But when she discovers that the money she thought would last forever is dwindling, she realizes she must make drastic changes to save her beloved house. So Nan takes out an ad: Rooms to rent for the summer in a beautiful old Nantucket home with water views and direct access to the beach. Slowly people start moving in to the house, filling it with noise, laughter, and with tears. As the house comes alive again, Nan finds her family and friends expanding. Her son comes home for the summer, and then an unexpected visitor turns all their lives upside down. "

First line: "The bike crunches along the gravel path, weaving around the potholes that could present danger to someone who didn't know the road like the back of their hand."

My thoughts: This was a fairly average chick lit read - enjoyable but fairly predictable. I enjoyed the Nantucket setting, I'm always intrigued by those New England vacation islands. It starts out describing all of the trials and tribulations of all of the people who will eventually move to Nan's house (but you don't know it yet), which isn't my favourite device - I do like it when a bunch of people come together, but I tend to find the descriptions of them beforehand a bit confusing and boring because I don't know the context.

My favourite part was when Nan got the better of the sleazy developer (you knew she would) and Nan is a good character - she seems to alternate a bit oddly between naive and very wise, but she's a loving, eccentric old bird who really wants the best for everyone.

The surprise visitor at the end was mostly a surprise - I half-suspected it and people better at predicting than I am probably would have long before I did, but it still made for a not-bad twist. There are lots of misunderstandings but you know that they'll all work out in the end.

The verdict: Not a bad summer read, but not dazzling.

Review: The Chili Queen

The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas
3.5 stars


Reasons for reading: Sounded good and won the Spur Award; Western for the Genre Challenge and Profession title for the What's in a Name? Challenge


Description: "Life may have been hard on Addie French, but when she meets friendless Emma Roby on a train, all her protective instincts emerge. Emma's brother is seeing her off to Nalgitas to marry a man she has never met. And Emma seems like a lost soul to Addie-someone who needs Addie's savvy and wary eye. It isn't often that Addie is drawn to anyone as a friend, but Emma seems different somehow. When Emma's prospective fails to show up at the train depot, Addie breaks all her principles to shelter the girl at her brothel, The Chili Queen. But once Emma enters Addie's life, the secrets that unfold and schemes that are hatched cause both women to question everything they thought they knew."


First line: "As the train pulled into the shabby station at Palestine, Kansas, the pinch-faced farmers and their wives in their rusty black-wool best lined up along the tracks like the teeth of a rake."

My thoughts: I don't think I'd ever read a Western before, so this was a new experience. I thought it was really cool to read a Western written by a woman - I always associate them with old guys like Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey.

The book is told in four parts, one for each main character - Addie French, madam of The Chili Queen; Ned Partner, bank robber; Emma Roby, a mail-order bride; and Welcome, a former slave turned cook at the whorehouse. It's the 1880's and most of the action takes place in New Mexico. I liked this device - it was an interesting way to reveal more information about the characters and what had really happened. Because things aren't always as they seem in this story, which makes for a few twists.

The tone of the story is a bit confusing - it's mostly quite light ("zesty" as one reviewer described it) but it also contains one of the most horrible descriptions of rape and murder I've ever read, as well as a few other grisly scenes. While they helped to shed light on the characters' past lives, it was a bit jarring to come upon these terrible things in what seemed like it was going to be rather a bank-robbing romp.

The verdict: Despite the tone issue, I think I'd read another book by Sandra Dallas (isn't that the perfect Western-author name?). Yee-haw!

Review: The Almost Archer Sisters

The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele
3.5 stars

Reasons for reading: saw a good review in the paper; Relative title for What's in a Name?Challenge

Description: "Georgia “Peachy” Archer Laliberte has almost gotten her life under control. Peachy, her husband Beau, and their two rambunctious sons live on the family farm in a small town in Canada, just across the border from the U.S.. Their closest neighbor is Peachy’s draft-dodging hairdresser father, Lou, who lives in a trailer on their land. Although her son Sam has epilepsy, Peachy, Beau, and Lou have worked out a successful system to care for him and maintain as normal a family life as possible, and Peachy’s status as a superhuman caregiver has its own rewards.When her life on the farm isn’t quite enough, Peachy can always live vicariously through her glamorous, New York City–dwelling sister, Beth. Thin, successful, and passionate Beth has clawed her way to the top, stepping on anyone it takes to get there — including, every so often, her younger sister. Still, Peachy and Beth are close, and they support each other through crises of all kinds.They support each other, that is, until Beth decides to sleep with Peachy’s husband Beau — who just happens to be Beth’s ex-boyfriend. Furious, Peachy decides to go to New York City — alone — and leaves Beth home to care for her family. As she spends a terrified, exciting weekend alone in the middle of Beth’s life, Peachy must confront questions of love, loyalty, and family to find her way back home."

First line: "Until she left the farm for good, I never thought much about what made me different from my sister, what set me apart from her beyond our looks, beyond her hair color (unnatural blond) and mine (unremarkable brown), her body type (tall, thin) and mine (neither)."

My thoughts: This book is all about contrasts - glamorpuss/homebody, the one who left/the one who stayed, America/Canada [with an American husband, I noticed these differences particularly], single/married... Beth/Peachy. The characters are definitely not likeable all the time - Beth comes off as mostly a self-centred bitch, Peachy seems to take her husband for granted, and Beau cheats on her with Beth. About the only really "nice" character is Lou and he's almost too nice in his hippish, everyone-get-along, all-you-need-is love way. Peachy claims she's not jealous of Beth, but makes quite a few statements about her life and looks that indicate that she is. And it's easy to see why - Peachy seems almost inert. She got knocked up and therefore married Beau, who was Beth's cast-off. Because of this, she didn't finish her social work degree and she lives in the same house that she's lived in her whole life (along with her father). The only thing that's changed is her two sons, whom she loves but she's also pretty candid that the younger one is becoming a little jerk and Sam the epileptic gets all of her attention that should go to both the little one and her husband.

For all of their differences, Beth and Peachy they're each other's lifeline, even though Peachy has a husband and family of her own, she, as Beau points out, spends more time talking to Beth than to him. Peachy is constantly talking Beth down from failed affairs, crazy travels, and her increasing drinking problem. When Beth sleeps with Beau, Peachy has had it and decides to leave her at the farm while she takes their planned trip to New York. In my favourite part of the book, Peachy hurls a wonderful rant at Beth about all the things she'll be expected to do in Peachy's place - laundry, doctor's appointments, what to do for a seizure, what everyone likes to eat and when, what everyone's schedule is, and all of the other things Peachy has to take care of daily. Though she ends it with "Sounds like my life sucks, doesn't it?" you can tell she's proud of how she keeps her family running and that Beth has no idea what she's in for.

The verdict: This story of two very different sisters is by turns sharp, sad, funny, angry and, finally, hopeful. It's also good for Can-Lit fans who are looking for something lighter. (I don't often find Canadian fiction that isn't 500 pages long and bleak and depressing as all get out - though maybe I just haven't looked in the right places.)

Review: Last Night at the Lobster

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
3 stars

Reasons for reading: had read good things about it; Realistic fiction for the Genre Challenge; Time of day title for the What's in a Name? Challenge II

Description: "The Red Lobster perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall hasn’t been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift with a near-mutinous staff. All the while, he’s wondering how to handle the waitress he’s still in love with, what to do about his pregnant girlfriend, and where to find the present that will make everything better."

First line: "Mall traffic on a winter's day, stalled."

My thoughts: This was an interesting little book. It definitely met the challenge requirement for realistic fiction. O'Nan quotes a poem at the beginning of the novel that ends with the line "All the vatos never in a poem" and that's what Manny is - a regular guy who would never normally be the subject of either poetry or fiction. He's just an ordinary guy trying to do his ordinary job while trying to keep his personal life out of it (hard to do when his ex is one of his waitresses). The story is particularly realistic for this year of economic crisis, given that the Red Lobster is closing down and most of the staff are losing their jobs.

The novel takes place over the course of one day, the last night at the Lobster before it closes and Manny and a handful of his staff have to go and work at an Olive Garden. Most of the staff have refused to come in because they're ticked off that Manny isn't taking them to the pasta joint and a bad snowstorm makes things even worse. But Manny is, in his own workaday world way, a hero - he tries to placate the feuding kitchen staff, he's kind to the boy with special needs who is, in many ways, his best employee, and he tries very hard to keep the walkways clear of snow, even though there are no customers. He gives the Lobster his full managerial best until the last moment, even though headquarters has barely spared a thought for his little family of mostly misfits.

The verdict: A quick read with some poetic moments. I think it would be a great read for anyone who has worked in a a restaurant, particularly as a manager.

What's in a Name Challenge II

I'm a bit late, but I didn't discover this challenge was going again until this week. I had fun with it last year and now there are new categories!

Annie is hosting it again, sign-up and full details are here.

It runs from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.
1. A book with a "profession" in its title.
2. A book with a "time of day" in its title.
3. A book with a "relative" in its title.
4. A book with a "body part" in its title.
5. A book with a "building" in its title.
6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title.

You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

I may change my list, but at the moment here's what I'm planning:

Profession - The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas
Time of Day - Last Night at the Lobster by Stuart O'Nan
Relative - The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabrielle
Body Part - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Medical condition - Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
Building - The Beach House by Jane Green