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penmage
46. Finding Lubchenko, by Michael Simmons
Evan Macalister describes himself as a "poor kid living in wealth and comfort." His dad, Evan Macalister Sr, the millionaire owner of a succesful pharmaceutical company, believes (a)that hardship builds character, and (b)that his son is good for nothing. Evan must work as an office aide at his dad's company to make pocket money to buy stuff like tshirts and sneakers, let alone movies and pizza. And so Evan does what any other resourceful, up-to-no-good teenager would do: he steals office supplies - dvd burners, printers, and laptops - from the company and sells them on ebay. Life is good - his dad is fingered for murder and bioterrorism. And the only evidence that could exonerate him is on a laptop that Evan has stolen. Evan is faced with a choice: turn in the laptop and face his father's ire (and maybe go to jail), or solve the mystery himself. And so Evan and his two best friends jet off to Paris to search for a man named Lubchenko, who may hold the key to proving his father's innocence.
Someone on Amazon called this "Ferris Bueller Goes to Paris," and that's a pretty apt description. Evan is irreverant and up to no good, but also immensely likeable. Even as he can't stand his rigid, Scottish Lutheran father, he can't let him get fingered for a crime he knows he didn't commit. Evan is a ridiculous amount of fun, and so is this novel. He drags his best friends - and us - on a madcap, ridiculous adventure across Paris - and of course, against all odds, succeeds in saving the day. This is a fun, fast-paced read. It's not too deep or too serious, but it isn't meant to be. How can anyone resist Ferris Bueller meets James Bond? I am very excited to read the sequal.
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47. Cures for Heartbreak, by Margo Rabb
Twelve days. That's all it took from the day Mia's mom was diagnosed with cancer until the day she died. Twelve days to destroy Mia's family and change her life. As Mia, her father and her sister struggle to cope with her death, they are faced with yet another challenge when her father has a heart attack and needs surgery. And when Mia's sister goes off to college, leaving Mia and her dad alone, Mia must learn again how to cope with her quickly decimating family.
This is a heartbreaking novel about loss and grief and learning to cope and rebuild your life when things feel like they're changing too fast and your world is realigning itself before your eyes. Gorgeously and realistically written with a strong voice, this novel isn't easy - but it is good.
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48. Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling, by D.M. Cornish
Rossamund Bookchild is a boy with a girl's name and a foundling, an orphan left as a baby on the doorstep of Madame Opera's Foundlingery. Though he is well cared for and loved by the proprieters of the Foundlingery, he yearns for a life of adventure, a chance to see the world beyond the walls of his city - and perhaps a chance to see some of the monsters that plague his world. When he is recruited by the Lamplighter's Guild, he has his chance. Rossamund sets out on his first foray into the world, meant to be a simple journey to the Lamplighters Guild, but of course, things don't quite go as planned, and along the way, Rossamund meets up with a variety of strange and troubling individuals, and has many adventures. He ends up travelling with Europe, a woman surgically altered to be able to channel electricity through her body, in order to fight and kill monsters. But the monsters turn out to be different than Rossamund expected - as does Europe, and the world at large. And the more he learns about his world, the more he realizes that perhaps there is something in his lineage that marks him as more than just a mere foundling.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover didn't grab me even a little, but the blurb did, and I'm glad I read it. Rossamund's world is strange and fascinating and complex, and Cornish has done a brilliant job of building a believably bizarre place. The detail is incredible - including an Explicarium in the back, an encyclopedia of the people, places and things in Rossamund's world. That aside, this is a typical orphan adventure story, but a very good one. People are complex. Even the good guys aren't completely white, and the bad guys are only sometimes completely black. Rossamund and the reader learn quickly that all is not always as it seems, or as he has been taught. I loved this book, and I am impatient for the sequal, and for the chance to immerse myself once again in Cornish's incredibly realized world.
