Month: January 2009

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danziger

Marcy Lewis is thirteen, thinks she looks like a blimp, and has no friends. Misunderstood, overweight, and convinced that she’ll never get a date, Marcy Lewis wants nothing more than to be “normal.” Until she meets Ms. Finney, an outspoken English teacher with an eccentric teaching method that rubs the principal the wrong way. Ms. Finney’s dismissal from the school propels Marcy to defend Ms. Finney, and provides a way for Marcy to reexamine what’s important to her and to stand up for what she believes in.

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit is really one of those classic reads.

I don’t understand why there aren’t more good books for children today than there have been in the past decades. There are a lot of titles for kids today, and some of them are really good, outstanding even, but the rest seem to be moneymaking schemes by publishers who produce books that are more flash than substance.

Some are downright crappy (Chasing Vermeer), or skanky (Gossip Girl), and then everything else seems to have hopped on the bandwagon of fantasy to create just another witch and wizard/dragon/time travel novel.

But when I was growing up, there seemed to be no lack of good books to read — Judy Blume, Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary, Carolyn Keene… and even one book wonders wrote great stuff! I get nostalgic just thinking about it.

The fantasy genre back then was reserved for the really good ones. What’s amazing is that the rest of the books were simply about kids and their lives, everyday adventures, and dealing with issues that concerned them — something that seems to be lacking in books today.

Just imagine, back in the 70’s Paula Danziger was writing about weight insecurities and Judy Blume was dealing with divorce, coping with the loss of a loved one, and premarital sex. It’s weird that in the supposedly more liberated world that we live in today, the books children read don’t have more substance when they barely even get to read books because of the distractions of modern technology. No wonder they’re growing up spoiled.

Ok, so this was more of a diatribe than a review, hehe. But really, I just miss books from the good old days.

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My copy: trade paperback from Book Sale

My rating: 4/5 stars

Night Dance by Suzanne Weyn

Night Dance is a blend of The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Arthurian lore, with Excalibur playing a major part in the plot and Morgana (here known as Morgan le Fey) as the villainness. It’s interesting how the two were blended together, and hats off to the author for the idea of tying in the two storylines.

It also reminded me of Orson Scott Card’s Enchantment (retelling of Sleeping Beauty, set in Russia hehe). I guess in the way the story was narrated, and the way magic was used throughout the story. Morgan le Fey reminded me of Baba Yaga in Enchantment, how they both can change into animals, and how they use primitive magic to call on the forces of nature.

The narration is really fairy tale-ish, like Enchantment, which makes it awkward to read at some points. There’s also a lot of teenage hormones flying about, gaggling girls, clumsy first kisses, etc — it’s quite dramatic, perfect for those experiencing teenage angst, hahaha. I guess that if I’d read it in high school I’d have loved it.

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My copy: put up for mooching last year

My rating: 3/5 stars

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier

The Virgin Blue reminded me of Labyrinth because of the split narratives between Isabelle Du Moulin and Ella Turner, and their familial ties. Isabelle Du Moulin is from the Protestant Reformation in 16th century France while Ella Turner is from the present day. As the story unfolds, the connection between the two women unfolds as well.

The book is Chevalier’s first novel, maybe that’s why it’s not as polished as the other two I’ve read…. It’s not as introspective as Girl with A Pearl Earring, or as fluidly narrative as The Lady and the Unicorn.

Nevertheless, the book gives an interesting glimpse into the lives of the two women, the historical ties that bind them, and a haunting family secret that makes its presence felt centuries later. Made for good airplane reading :)

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My copy: faded trade paperback from Book Sale

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

Becky Bloomwood is back! This time, with a bump — Becky and Luke’s first baby!

Becky Bloomwood is back in the 5th novel of the Shopaholic series, armed with her credit card as she prepares for the baby’s arrival – booties, designer rompers, prams, you name it and Becky has to have it. So when news of a celebrity ob/gyne Venetia Carter breaks out, Becky has to have her too, and decides to switch from her old ob/gyne. All’s well, until she finds out Venetia is Luke’s ex-girlfriend from college, and still carries a torch for Luke, posing an impending threat to their fledgling family.

My sisters, my mom (yes, my mom likes chicklit, especially Sophie Kinsella and Meg Cabot) and I are Shopaholic fans, so I was delighted when Tattie (my eldest sister) bought me a copy of Shopaholic and Baby a couple of months ago when I complained that I couldn’t find one (of course now, it’s back in stock).

I liked Shopaholic and Baby, although I think I really love Shopaholic Ties the Knot and Shopaholic and Sister best. Becky is up to her usual antics, but I guess some themes in this book make it a bit more serious than the rest in the series. I guess, Becky has to grow up sometime, well at least more grown-up than Becky has ever been in her life, and it shows in this book.

The supporting cast is still a riot, though, especially Suze, Janice, Danny, and Mr. and Mrs. Bloomwood. Jess is back too, hint, hint, I wish Sophie Kinsella would write a book about her as well, haha like the Shopaholic’s Non-Shopaholic sister. Heehee.

Of course, all’s well that ends well, and it’s still a great addition to the series :)

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My copy: Gosh, I have three copies of this book – 2 hardcovers (one mooched, one from NBS) and one large paperback…

My rating: 3/5 stars

Chasing Cezanne by Peter Mayle


This was the first Peter Mayle book I ever read, and I had no idea that he was a travel writer so I was in a totally different frame of mind when I read it, expecting an art heist thriller. But like all Mayle’s books, Chasing Cezanne is more like a travel book than anything else. It also reads like chick lit, which is kind of weird, because the protagonist is male.
The premise was really good: photographer Andre Kelly is off on a shoot when he sees a Cezanne being removed from the premises of a former client. He photographs this event and is embroiled in a chase for the missing painting.

Except that it’s got to be the most leisurely chase I’ve ever read — Andre and his gang (a fastidious art dealer, plus Andre’s love interest Lucy) stop to eat and sightsee (and sleep together) every chance they get, hehe.

The language is languid and dreamy, the descriptions are beautiful and picturesque. No rip-roaring chases here — the book is more like Under the Tuscan Sun than Da Vinci Code.

Even Cezanne is only incidental, you can substitute some other painter’s name in the title and the story wouldn’t change, that’s how little Cezanne. And there’s very little actual art discussed, other than the process of selling famous paintings and a bit of forgery (haha, Incognito was a great movie for that!). Actually I think even the mystery is only incidental, it was just a reason for Andre to get together with Lucy and romp from New York to Paris and the South of France.

Worth reading for the travelogue and food commentary — this is what Mayle does best, and he delivers commendably, but mystery lovers might feel shortchanged.

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My copy: trade paperback upgraded into a hardcover with dust jacket

My rating: 3/5 stars

Photo courtesy of Amazon (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5154TY62ARL.jpg)