Like many books I own, I got Hold Still from the bargain book section of the local warehouse store. I admit, I judged by the cover. The photo and art was put together in my own personal taste. Then I read description and knew I had to give it a real chance.
Caitlin, a normal 16 year old girl has found a best friend in Ingrid, a girl in her high school. But at the end of the year, Ingrid is gone. No goodbye, no suicide note. Nothing. Just another body in the cemetery, and Caitlin is devastated.
Hold Still follows Caitlin over a one year period as she struggles to get over the loss of her best friend. She finds the journal Ingrid kept with her, stashed away under Caitlin's bed. In it are details of Ingrid's life behind the curtains as she battles depression.
For her first book, Nina LaCour wrote a powerful and beautiful story. It's so real, so full of depth, something most books targeted toward the teenage crowd rarely achieve. Unlike the bubblegum-pop, happy happy joy joy books for teens today, it's not sugarcoated. Details are in your face, nothing is held back.
Hold Still deals with the very real issue of death, a taboo subject in the western world and a topic Ms. LaCour seems to handle very elegantly while still keeping the raw emotion that goes with it.
Overall, the plot is strong, the book is entertaining and makes you want more and the characters actually develop over time. It's a good read for anyone, especially those who are overcoming loss, not necessarily suicide.
In my honest opinion, the book gets 5 stars. I can't wait to read more from Nina LaCour.
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby
Maybe I’m biased. Maybe I like my zombie books with some gore, torn away limbs and destruction, not just the threat of it all. Or maybe Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby is like Twilight. It’s zombie horror for people who wouldn’t normally read zombie horror. Or perhaps Mrs. Ashby was trying too hard to make it appeal to it’s teen audience.
The book’s main character, Mia Everett is a nerd who watches too much TV and normally can’t get a hot BF if her life depended on it. Oh hey, sounds familiar. *looks in the mirror next to me* Somehow, by an act of God, the hottest football player in her California high school, Rob, has asked her out. They’ve been on 6 “perfect” dates. Technically five but six if you count her going to one of his games.
Of course Ms. Popular Bitch Samantha, the all around beautiful (except personality wise) cheerleader isn’t happy about this. She’s been hanging around Rob a bit too much and Mia doesn’t like where she thinks this is going. Mia freaks out to her best friend Candice who suggest they skip school to go to the mall and buy a pushup bra and slutty stilettos. Mia mentions the word “spell” and Candice decides to take her best friend to a seedy strip mall where she can buy a love spell to win back her hot jock “boy friend.”
One thing leads to another, Mia turns her entire grade into zombies, becomes the zombie queen and meets a hot zombie slayer. Just a typical day in California, right?
The repeated use of words like “yelped” and “retorted” got on my nerves. The fact that Samantha and Grace, Mia’s sister who actually looks up to Samantha, speak too perfectly for cheerleader California girls. Not that that’s a problem, I just thought I would point it out seeing as I don’t think there is such thing as a cheerleader with some comprehension of proper English.
The plot was interesting, but could have been done a bit better. I liked the thought of someone creating zombies with a single, twisted spell. At least Ms. Ashby didn’t say that the government created a virus that created the zombies or try to make the main characters hide in a mall like many zombies movies/books do. *coughoverdonecough* The stages of becoming a zombie were entertainingly stupid. How one’s flesh could smell like chicken is beyond me. *sniffs self* I smell like the Velvet Tube Rose perfume from Bath and Bodyworks. :D
Over all, it was pretty boring. I somehow managed to finish the book, perhaps due to the slightly elevated suspense toward the end.
In my honest opinion, the book gets 3 stars. It would have been 2 if not for the fact that later on in the book, Mia realizes what a superficial, selfish bitch she’s been. I found this book in the bargain bin at my local book store for a reason.
The book’s main character, Mia Everett is a nerd who watches too much TV and normally can’t get a hot BF if her life depended on it. Oh hey, sounds familiar. *looks in the mirror next to me* Somehow, by an act of God, the hottest football player in her California high school, Rob, has asked her out. They’ve been on 6 “perfect” dates. Technically five but six if you count her going to one of his games.
Of course Ms. Popular Bitch Samantha, the all around beautiful (except personality wise) cheerleader isn’t happy about this. She’s been hanging around Rob a bit too much and Mia doesn’t like where she thinks this is going. Mia freaks out to her best friend Candice who suggest they skip school to go to the mall and buy a pushup bra and slutty stilettos. Mia mentions the word “spell” and Candice decides to take her best friend to a seedy strip mall where she can buy a love spell to win back her hot jock “boy friend.”
One thing leads to another, Mia turns her entire grade into zombies, becomes the zombie queen and meets a hot zombie slayer. Just a typical day in California, right?
The repeated use of words like “yelped” and “retorted” got on my nerves. The fact that Samantha and Grace, Mia’s sister who actually looks up to Samantha, speak too perfectly for cheerleader California girls. Not that that’s a problem, I just thought I would point it out seeing as I don’t think there is such thing as a cheerleader with some comprehension of proper English.
The plot was interesting, but could have been done a bit better. I liked the thought of someone creating zombies with a single, twisted spell. At least Ms. Ashby didn’t say that the government created a virus that created the zombies or try to make the main characters hide in a mall like many zombies movies/books do. *coughoverdonecough* The stages of becoming a zombie were entertainingly stupid. How one’s flesh could smell like chicken is beyond me. *sniffs self* I smell like the Velvet Tube Rose perfume from Bath and Bodyworks. :D
Over all, it was pretty boring. I somehow managed to finish the book, perhaps due to the slightly elevated suspense toward the end.
In my honest opinion, the book gets 3 stars. It would have been 2 if not for the fact that later on in the book, Mia realizes what a superficial, selfish bitch she’s been. I found this book in the bargain bin at my local book store for a reason.
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