The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily
by Laura Creedle Book Review by Miranda Fraser (Moses) ISBN: 9780544932050 I hate to be that person... but I judge books by their cover. I KNOW! I'm ashamed of it too. But my instinct with book covers has almost always led me to books that I adore and read over and over again. But then there are books, like this one, whose covers are so unappealing that I would never have picked it up on my own. I owe Once Upon A Book Club for this. And once again not sponsored just enjoying my membership. This book was beautiful and heartbreaking. Laura Creedle brought an amazing story to life and I'm glad I didn't miss it. To begin with, I actually didn't know anything about the book. Silly me, in my sleep aid induced mind, read the wrong part of the book cover. It has one of those paper covers, you know the ones where all the info is in the inside of the cover? Yeah, I took that off, read the back, and scoffed at the idea of the book. In case anyone else did that- it's not about a time traveler going to high school. It's actually an engaging story focused around a teenager named Lilly. Her parents are divorced, she shares her room with her little sister, has one best friend, and high school is hell. But high school is it's own particular hell for Lilly because she suffers from ADHD and Dyslexia. I say suffer, and I'm sure someone took offense to that. BUT when it leaves you feeling like you cannot do anything right AND like you're riding on a carousel of medications- suffer is very accurate. My little brother was diagnosed with pretty much everything under the spectrum, so I'm no stranger to any of the medical conditions discussed in this book. And I think that might be part of why it hit home so hard. THAT and that you don't normally see authors tackle the concepts of living with ADHD, Dyslexia, Aspergers. I mean when Lilly's having trouble understanding what someone is saying to her the words will be scrambled up, visually depicting her confusion to the reader. I truly felt that Creedle did a good job getting the information across to her readers. Now, I'm sure you're like, alright but the title has another name in it? What about him? Abelard (I adore his name) is a quiet, 'strange kid', Lilly's known since Kindergarten. In fact Lilly tells the story of how she was having a hyper moment and accidentally cut his face with her lunchbox, which she was swinging around. He never told on her but he has a scar on his face from it. After a series of strange events Lilly and Abelard end up texting every night at 7pm. Time is very important. Abelard has Aspergers, which is a form of Autism but very high functioning. Most of the children who have this are highly intelligent but suffer where their social skills are concerned and therefore have a hard time making friends. They may also have a very hard time with sensory problems. In Abelard's case he suffers from sensory overload issues. For instance he gets out of class a few minutes early every class so that he can avoid crowds. Too much noise, lights, people, etc. can be overwhelming for him. Same thing with physical touch, he is very selective about being touched. I'm actually familiar with these issues so I thought it was very well written. For someone with this kind of a sensory issue a physical relationship can be darn near impossible. Lily and Abelard begin texting each other and falling for the other. BUT they started texting each other quotes from Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise, the book Abelard is named after, and a real story. While the book wasn't published that long ago (I could be wrong, researching it was really difficult) the people and the letters were written in the 1100's! First of all, I have a secret love for things like that. I had a boyfriend in High School that would have whole email/text conversations with me in Shakespearean tongue and quotes. BUT I also love the dedication it takes for an author to use actual quotes from another book and have it so perfectly fit a modern day love story. In the end I just want to stress how human this story is. It's not a magic fiction world full of magical creatures and spells that can fix it all. It's a raw story about growing up. There's family problems, there is issues with schooling and your peers. Mental issues and the ever impending question of what is happiness. I actually highlighted a whole section about the word happy. Lily describes it as a bully of a word, and as someone who deals with anxiety and depression, that hit home pretty hard. It's about hope and trying to make everyone happy around them. And most importantly there's the ever important battle of making yourself happy. You have to find yourself. Read on my fellow book worms, may we one day have Belle's library. And as always links to the author's pages can be found down below.
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The Two Princesses of Bamarre
by Gail Carson Levine Book review by Miranda Fraser (Moses) ISBN: 0-06-440966-x While I can't remember a time in my life where I had stopped reading, there are certain books that I remember re-sparking my love of reading. You know those books that are just so perfectly written that they speak to some inner part of you and you can never forget them. The Two Princess of Bamarre is one of those stories. Many people know Gail Carson Levine for 'Ella Enchanted' and 'Fairest'. This book does not take place in that kingdom, but if you enjoy her writing then you should love this one. This story takes place in a mid evil kingdom full of magic and mythological creatures. An unfortunate plague hits the kingdom, the Gray Death. It has taken many of the kingdoms citizens, even the King's wife. The Gray Death continues to torture this kingdom for many years. When it revisits the castle a sick twist of fate occurs. You see the king is blessed with two beautiful daughters. Opposite in every way. Meryl is brave and adventurous, dreams of fighting dragons, and heroic deeds. She is described as being fair and small, compact in energy and bravery. Adelina on the other hand is scared of everything: spiders, shadows, etc. She is described as being tall for her age, loose-limbed, and dark complexioned. They were opposites but they loved the other and understood the other. Meryl always protecting Addie from every danger, real of not. I mean their relationship is so beautiful it's the kind of love all parents hope their kids will have for the other. But alas this happiness does not go on, for the brave princess who believed she would find the cure, fell ill to the Gray Death. In this moment when all hope seems lost Addie must find her courage to seek out the cure herself. This book is FILLED with excitement and adventure. There are legends and ballads, there are 'prophecies', a charming sorcerer, fairies, specters, dragons, ogres, and so on and so forth. There are so many creative spells and magical items in this. A pillow made of clouds, a tablecloth that produces food when properly requested, magical boots, and so much more. The story is just SO charming and FULL of twists and turns, and even a little romance. But the tale of finding courage and power in ones self should speak volumes to anyone. Especially to a child or young adult who may need their courage more than ever. Perhaps this book can speak to that inner part of them as well. AND even though when you all see this review I will already have it in my hands, 14 years after this book was published, Levine has made a prequel. I literally cried when I saw that. I love this story so much and I'm so ridiculously happy to have another story in this kingdom. Links to the author's pages are below. Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld Book Review by Miranda Fraser (Moses) ISBN: 0-439-80611-9 I honestly cannot believe I never wrote a book review for this! I think because I did one on the graphic novel 'Shay's Story' that somehow I felt I had written about the original story. This is another one of those books/book series that I have read over and over. I loved this entire series, even though, admittedly the next two books in the series kind of break your heart. And then the fourth one, which is arguably a companion book more than a direct continuation of the story, was also really well done. My husband and I both read this book in middle school and I've reread it and recommended it countless times. It's one of those YA books that a lot people have either read, or would enjoy, so it's always a safe bet to suggest it in conversation. In The Uglies series it's a post apocalyptic world, some hundreds of years after a disaster reshaped the world and it's governments. In this new world everyone is born "ugly" and then on their 16th birthday they are given "pretty" surgery. All of their flaws are corrected and they will all look like super models. No one can fight or bully each other when they're all the same and perfect. Then you get moved into Pretty-ville (I don't think that's the exact name I just don't remember it, lol) where you have all the high-tech gadgets and parties you want. Can you smell the problem with this yet? Well our heroine, though honestly, I am not sure I want to call her that, Tally Youngblood is THRILLED to get this surgery. I mean, if you've been told your whole life that you were ugly wouldn't you jump at the chance to be 'fixed'? During her wait Tally becomes friends with a girl named Shay. And Shay doesn't want to be rebuilt, she thinks there is another option out there. And she's right. Far off the grid is a place called The Smoke where people never get the surgery and they live normal human lives. Shay runs away to this place and Tally stays behind. That's when The Specials (government/police), inform Tally that if she doesn't help them find Shay, she will never get her pretty surgery. Needless to say Tally goes on this mission with the sole intent of turning her in. After all the government wouldn't steer you wrong would they? It is discovered that they are rebuilding more than just your body and you are essentially controlled by your government in every way. Tally, finds The Smoke, finds Shay and a whole other world she knows nothing about. Suddenly it's a lot harder to decide if she wants to be a Pretty or not. There is a love interest and a bit of a love triangle, I know, how positively typical for a YA novel. But the story is really good and it's not too annoying of a love triangle for long, at least not that I remember. And it goes without saying that this is book one of a trilogy. After this is Pretties and then Specials. And like I said there is a fourth book called Extras. I feel like if you read the original trilogy the fourth book should also be read so you see more of the world and what's been happening in it. A lot of things happen throughout the stories and it's crazy, upsetting, and heartbreaking- but also riveting. ALSO BEFORE ANYONE COMES FOR ME- Trigger Warning in the second book. There is 'self-mutilation' in this novel. AND at the risk of posting spoilers I want you to know that I might be more upset about this if it wasn't under the context of the fact that pretties don't own their own minds and are under constant supervision so that nothing happens to them. But then they discover that pain helps them break free of the mind control. It completely plays into the story, it isn't a suicidal thing or anything in that context. BUT it has made a lot of mothers upset and so I want to be very clear on that being a part of this series. If you're not completely turned off to reading this I highly suggest it. Scott Westerfeld originally started out as a Scifi author and moved over to YA because it was a very lucrative writing genre at the time. I think that is really obvious with his style of writing that he clearly has some sort of a scifi background or interest. I hope you guys enjoy this book and as always links to the authors pages can be found down below. Read on my fellow book worms may we one day have Belle's library. GUYS SCOTT WESTERFELD I COMING BACK IN SEPTEMBER WITH NEW BOOKS TO CONTINUE IN THIS SERIES. I AM FREAKING OUT SO HARD RIGHT NOW. Also this review was written in march so waiting to share this with you guys is going to be so difficult. |
YA Fiction Reviews |