Specials

Read November 2009
Photo courtesy Scott Westerfeld's site.

The Scoop: The third in the Uglies series with protagonist Tally Youngblood. Written by American author Scott Westerfeld in 2006, published by Simon Pulse.

The Ingredients: Tally Youngblood is now part of a unique Special Circumstances crew with her friend Shay and other Cutters. Being a Special also means undergoing a different surgery that makes one virtually superhuman. They are tasked to find the new location of the New Smoke, the camp where Uglies go to rebel against the Pretty operations and lifestyle. Aaaand adventure ensues.

Serves: Young adult.

[Part 1: Being Special] Crashing a Bash - The six hoverboards slipped among the trees with the lightning grace of playing cards thrown flat and spinning. [2/5 Not very enthralling, but...hoverboards!]

Result: Very action-packed, suspenseful, and thrilling. We find out what characters who appeared previously had been up to, so there's a good sense of cohesion and tying things back together. The technological concepts Westerfeld incorporates just add to his strength at science fiction writing. It makes the story all the more interesting and really drew me in to imagining all of it in full form. I think it's pretty neat when, while you're reading a book, you can just picture everything happening right in front of your eyes, down to the littlest details. The sneak suits, the Specials' unique body modifications, the hoverboards of course, position finders...they really make for a fascinating world. [4/5 A significant improvement from the second. The action scenes are very exciting and the ending left me wanting more.]

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Read October 2009.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

The Scoop: Written by Larry Doyle, a former writer for The Simpsons. Published by Ecco (HarperCollins) in 2007. Adapted as a Canadian/American film in 2009, directed by Chris Columbus, and starring Paul Rust and Hayden Panettiere in the lead roles.


The Ingredients: Debate team member and high school valedictorian Denis Cooverman, instead of sticking with his prepared speech for their graduation, ends up declaring his love for popular cheerleader Beth Cooper in front of the whole student body and their parents. He also singles out some other notable students in his speech, upsetting them. Beth ends up thinking Denis' profession is sweet, but off-duty soldier boyfriend doesn't. The rest of the novel follows the progression of the night as Denis and his best friend Rich end up joining forces with Beth and her gang, much to Denis' shock.

Serves: High-schoolers/teenagers. Or those who really want to relive high school shenanigans for some reason.

1. The Valedict: Denis Cooverman was sweating more than usual, and he usually sweat quite a bit. [1/5 The first line paints the picture, but not very creatively or eloquently.]

Result: I checked this out from the library on a whim. I just saw the spine and recalled that there had been a recent movie adapted from it, so I wanted to see what it was about. Despite some rather good reviews (the book, not the film), I didn't like it. I struggled to keep reading it and at the end I felt rather bummed that I had wasted time reading it. Admittedly, after reading some positive reviews, I could somewhat see where these readers were coming from, but it still didn't improve my overall feeling. Larry Doyle does have a way of expressing witty observations, but these mildly funny notes were few and far between. I felt the events of the night seemed a bit far-fetched or shocking (though who knows, because I was a very tame and mild-mannered high-schooler). One review also talked about Doyle's uncanny way of imitating the speak of teenagers, but I don't agree. And the plot line just seemed to drag on a bit and got redundant, like (spoiler alert...) how Denis got pummeled by Beth's boyfriend time and time again. And then there are the overdone high school stereotypes - the dorky awkward yet smart boy who has spent a lifetime secretly pining for the cheerleader, and of course the blond pretty popular cheerleader with the older boyfriend, the cheerleader's sidekicks, the closeted gay guy who relies on humor and his schtick of reciting movie lines to draw attention away from his homosexuality, the big jock bully who actually is just acting out on being hurt when he was younger, and so forth. [1/5 I would not recommend this book. Unless...I have no idea. It does seem like some people enjoy this book. Somehow it just was not my cup of tea, or the humor was beyond (or far too beneath) me. It could have been an interesting story, but it did not actualize the way I might've imagined it to. So a 1 for concept, I guess.]