Booklog: The White Darkness, The True Meaning of Smekday, North of Beautiful

[penmage]

The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean

Symone is a bit of an odd duck. For one thing, she’s in love with Captain Titus Oates, which is only remarkable in that Titus died ninety years ago. For another, she is obsessed with all things Antarctica. So when her Uncle Victor surprises her with a dream trip to Antarctica, she is thrilled. But before long, Symone will be thrust into a nightmarish struggle for survival that will force her to reconsider everything she thought she knew—about Antarctica, about her past, and about herself.

If you are supposed to learn things from books, then this is what I’ve learned from reading The White Darkness: I never, ever, ever, ever, ever want to go to Antarctica (sorry, janni.) Never, ever, ever. Especially not in the company of a crazy man. This is a terrible book. Not terrible as in badly written—terrible as in, terrible things happen. This book makes you feel the awful claustrophobia of being lost in the middle of Antarctica alone without a hope of rescue or survival. It makes you feel the paralyzing cold. You really feel the creeping horror as you begin to realize the extent of Uncle Victor’s crazy. It’s terrible. You feel like you’re there. You feel like the only possibly happy ending would be “rock falls, everybody dies.” You want to close the book and shove it away from you, but you need to keep reading and see it through to the end.

I don’t know why this won the Printz this year. It’s a compelling book, but the whole time I was reading it I just wanted to be finished with it already. I don’t know.

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The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

Gratuity (Tip to her friends) Tucci has a story to tell, and she’s not sure where to start. Does it start with the time when her mother claimed to have been abducted by aliens who communicated with her through a mole on her neck? Or how about the day the Boov actually arrived, conquered Earth (and renamed it Smekland) and generously allowed the population of the United States to live peacefully in the state of Florida? Or maybe her story begins with her uneasy alliance with a Boov named J.Lo, her journey in a converted hovercar called Slushious, a large cat named Pig, and a crazy attempt to save Earth—or Smekland—from alien invasion #2? Either way, it’s a story that’s worth reading.

This is one of those fantastic books that starts strong and just gets better. Gratuity is funny and bold and really likeable. Her narrative made me laugh a hundred times, starting with the DEVASTATING EYE LASERS and moving on from there. And if you don’t love J.Lo, there’s something wrong with you.

Oh, and did I mention the "photos" and illustrations? Because this book is peppered with photos from Gratuity's old school polaroid camera.

This book has it all. An apocalypse (sort of), an alien invasion (or two), Happy Mouse Kingdom, a fantastic voice, and a really fantastic story. It’s one of those really good, really satisfying reads that you wish you hadn’t finished, because you just want to keep reading more.

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North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

The first thing people notice about Terra Cooper isn’t her gorgeous blonde hair or killer body: it’s the port wine stain that spreads across her cheek, marking her face. Terra is desperate to escape her tiny Washington town, and plots to attend a small liberal arts college on the East Coast, but her controlling father dashes her plans. When she meets Jacob, a Goth Chinese boy, after she nearly hits him with her car, things begin to change. Jacob gets her. For the first time in her life, Terra is with someone with whom she can let down her shield. Through Jacob’s friendship and a life-changing trip to China with her mother, can Terra find her true path and figure out who she really wants to be?

This book is gorgeous. Gorgeous. The thing about Justina Chen Headley’s books is that I start each and every one noting how similar they are to each other—the ultra-self aware teen, the unloving/broken family. And then the protagonist’s voice gets into my head, and I all but forget that there were other books at all. There’s only Terra, and Terra’s struggles and problems and issues.

And Terra is so relatable. You know her. She’s someone you’ve spoken to, or someone you’ve been, and you are instantly inside her struggle. And watching Terra learn who she is and who she wants to be—watching her try to put the pieces of her family back together—it’s beautiful. Her relationship with her mother is beautiful to watch, and they make you want to cheer.

This is a tremendously satisfying coming-of-age story.

Comments

[janni.livejournal.com]

I actually agree with you on The White Darkness. It was okay, but not as compelling as I wanted it to be. I'd've given the Printz to honor-book Dreamquake, myself. :-)

And while I dearly want to visit Antarctica, I definitely don't want to do it in the company of crazy people. It's an incredibly unforgiving sort of place.

Do you think Smekday counts as post-apocalyptic? I go back and forth. But I liked it, and it'd be fun to add it to the post-apoc list. :-)

[eyelid.livejournal.com]

For one thing, she’s in love with Captain Titus Oates, which is only remarkable in that Titus died ninety years ago. For another, she is obsessed with all things Antarctica.

I don't think that's very weird. I'm in love with like 5 different anime guys and they never existed in the first place. I'm obsessed with all things superhero. :)

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but she also hears his voice in her head and thinks he's talking to her. Slightly odder than most :).

[penmage.livejournal.com]

It doesn't have the same feel as post-apocs like Life As We Knew It and Hole in the Sky, etc--for one thing, it's funny. But it's still a major earth change. And I love it like crazy.

[janni.livejournal.com]

And I love the idea of a funny post-apocalyptic story. :-)

[janni.livejournal.com]

I think I want to bring up the whole business of what makes for the end of the world in a post ... is it okay to mention we were talking about the Adam Rex book, or would you rather not? (Since this is a locked post, and I don't want to even obliquely refer to it if you don't want me to!)

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Oh, feel free. If it makes life easier for you, I can unlock it--I just automatically lock pretty much everything these days. But there's no personal information in here, so I don't mind making it public.

[janni.livejournal.com]

Nah, I'm not getting anywhere near so specific as would need unlocking. (But thanks for offering!) (I've thought of doing locked book reviews myself, actually. Less chance of getting email from the author that way, among other things ...)

[akamarykate.livejournal.com]

I always come across the most interesting books, reading your booklog posts. My To-Be-Read pile may not thank you, but I do. :)

I'm interested to hear what you think of A Crooked Kind of Perfect, since it's one I adored enough to run out and buy after I'd read it at the library, just so I could give it--along with a pair of striped toe socks--to my niece for her 10th birthday. :)

[jennifer-j-s.livejournal.com]

I've been telling everyone about Adam Rex's The True Meaning of Smekday -- which is where Janni heard about it. So much fun!