Contagion

11. Contagion by Robin Cook. Another medical mystery thriller. Overall a very good book, although I would have enjoyed more background info on viruses and such. (I love that stuff.) It focuses on a NYC coroner/ME who is suspicious of the mounting cases due to rare, deadly viruses.

At times this novel seemed a bit long-winded. One of the characters, Therese, seemed too flat and uninteresting. Unfortunately, she becomes a key player at the end. I wish she had been given fuller characterization prior the the climactic ending. The story does weave an interesting subplot about NY gangs, which offers a human interest piece detour from the main storyline.

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I'm going to try to take a break from fiction reading this week with the exception of A Christmas Carol. I only have a few days to read it if I am to meet my goal having a Christmas in July experience.

The City of Ember, Door to December, The Luxe, Second Nature

Since July 4th I've read several new books.

7. The City of Ember (YA) by Jeanne DuPrau. This book is set in a world underground. The city of Ember is a completely self-sufficient city, and has been for centuries, but finally the city's electricity source is dying. While many citizens live in fear and panic, two young adults know that there must be a way out. Lina and Doon struggle against the unknown and the dictatorial mayor to find hope and life.

Really, I had little patience for this book until the last third of it. I felt it was slow-paced and my own eagerness to read didn't kick in until the two children are on their way out of the city. I was taken aback by my lack of enthusiasm; the book gets rave reviews and the movie trailer looks excellent. I think that many people would enjoy this book, but don't think that you are going to be getting the same quality of book as The Giver.

8. The Door to December by Dean Koontz. A fun mystery about a paranormal experience. Interesting background information about sensory deprivation. The chapters alternate between focusing on Linda and Melanie McCaffrey and the archetypal detective (brooding, lonely, protective of women and children due to some trauma in his own past). Melanie, a young girl, had been kidnapped many years before the start of the novel. Forced to undergo psychological torture, Melanie is nearly catatonic when she is finally discovered. But the detective must not only track down the culprits, but also find out the cause of the psychogeist that is also troubling them. Like I said, a fun read. Thanks, Grandma!

9. The Luxe (YA) by Anna Godbersen. A YA read for older teens, this is a great book that hopes to mimic Edith Wharton. (The author even has a few lines from The Age of Innocence on the front page.) A story about two high society girls in turn of the century New York. Also like Wharton, it involves high society individuals who can't love the ones they want due to social codes and social hierarchy. There's the usual wheeling, dealing, and trickery also involved. And the book is exquisitely detailed and researched in regards to dress, dialogue, and social codes and mores.


Unlike Wharton, the book has a thoroughly happy and predictable ending, which is one reason why Wharton's works are so weighty and poignant. Godbersen's ending is too easy. Not one person gets hurts - except for the mother who is one of the few characters of concern who doesn't know that her beautiful oldest daughter faked her own death. There is also the improbability of a high society girl making the decision to search her her true love (the carriage driver) on the West Coast. Come on. How often does this happen? How would a girl of 17 who has lived the most sheltered life just hope to find her lover? In an age without Google or phones? I was left with the pressing question of how such a socialite would bear her new life. A fun read but not quality. This is just Gossip Girl set a century back - and a little less nasty.

I just learned that this is to be a series book. BTW, I find the title lacking anything in terms of poetry, meaning, or reflection.

10. Second Nature by Alice Hoffman. I've read 4 of her books so far: two YA and two adult books. I've enjoyed them all. She is able to infuse an ethereal quality into her books. More than that, she's able to present almost mystical/magical situations that thoroughly capture me. While her prose may not be poetic (such as Donna Jo Napoli's), it is hypnotic.

Before I go on about this book, I would like to highly recommend The Ice Queen, which was one of the best reads ever.

Stephen is a man who was raised by wolves. Discovered in a forest, he has been brought to a psychiatric hospital in NY. Robin Moore finds him while visiting her brother, a doctor. Without thinking, she sympathizes with his imprisoned plight, she secretively manages to remove him from the ward. Robin takes him home and nurtures him.

This book is great. Much better than one would ever expect from a wolf-man romance. Honest to God, the premise sounds horrible and loony, but in practice this book rocked.

Beach 2008

Some highlights of the Giordano Beach Vacation 2008 - Lavalette

• Some lovely girls offered us their parking spot, which had $3 of time on it, in Seaside.
• Time spend with Uncle A, Aunt Veronica, and Mia before they move to California - and finally becoming friends with Mia!
• Zeppoles and Funnel Cake
• An excruciatingly long game of mini-golf
• An in-ground, lined Barbie pool
• Grudgingly, I even enjoyed Steve's friends
• Time spend with Krissy and Terry
• Our trip to Big Lots!
• Bike riding with Mom, Terry, Steve and/or Jay
• Watching chick flicks with Dad
• Watching the sun rise with mom and Terr
• Going to the Board walk with Grandma
• Leaving a restaurant because of their lack of cole slaw
• Going to the beach with Grandma and the Beach Chair!
• Getting our new surprise pet, Beta Dorothy, and the long, long trip home with him in a fish bowl.
• All the great finds on the beach!
• The endless hours Terry and Mom dedicated to helping me find a sundress.
• Losing track of time, instructions, and Mom on the last night. Mom and Dad were thoroughly frustrated with Terry and me!

I attached this Quicktime movie. On my computer, the movie has a soundtrack, but for some reason I can't get the sound on Blogger. I don't know if it's my own ineptitude or some type of Blogger thing. Anyway, the song that should play along with it is "I'm from New Jersey" by John Gorka.

The Christopher Killer, Among the Hidden, Life As We Knew It

I've been reviewing my summer goals. I think that I've been doing moderately well with the great exception of working on my Master's Portfolio. Haven't touched that yet. But I'm going on a beach vacation soon, so I guess I'll worry about that when I get back to CT.

I'm trying to read as many YA summer reading titles as possible. I like knowing what the students might possibly be reading for summer reading, and it gives me a leg up when grading their projects. Because our school only recommends books, and because the recommendation list is about 100 books long, I've got quite a large selection.

4. The Christopher Killer (YA) by Alane Ferguson. This was a forensic mystery. Overall, it was pretty good. A definite replacement for CSI if, like me, you've seen almost all the existing CSI episodes. A small town coroner's daughter named Cameryn becomes involved in the mystery of a serial killer. Although this was a pretty good read, there are definite arguing points. First, what small town of 700 has its very own coroner? (Spoiler Alert!) Second, the murderer is able to trap his victims by putting roofies and an antacid in his own drink. He spills the drink, and his waitress must come to clean it up. The spilled, spiked drink touches her skin. The antacid opens the pores of the skin and allow the roofies to get sucked into the waitress's blood stream. Really? Really? Whatever. Third, the dialogue is a little flat at times, which definitely depersonalizes the protagonist. But like I said, a pretty good read. A beach read.

5. Among the Hidden (YA) by Margeret Peterson Haddix. Luke, a 12 year old, is a third child, who are strictly prohibited in this futuristic America. Third children must remain hidden. While this was a good and quick read, I wasn't blown over by it. I'll still probably read the rest of the series, because the books are super short and can be read quickly.

6. Life as We Knew It (YA) by Susan Beth Pfeffer. An A+! An asteroid hits the moon, pushing the moon closer to Earth. The new gravitational pull results in catastrophic tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes. In northern PA, a family tries to survive the following year. While living unscathed from the immediate effects of tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes, the family still must deal with lack of sun (due to the ash from so many volcanoes - think Krakatoa), lack of food, lack of electricity, and rampant disease and flu. Miranda, the protagonist who tells this story through a series of journal entries, is exceptionally characterized. Her emotions fluctuate from adolescent angst over romance to her forcing herself to find the strength and determination to help her family survive. The other characters are also realistically portrayed. The mother, who is described as someone who would usually be charitable to others in need, becomes overly obsessed with rationing food so that her family will survive the winter. The family tries to hide the severity of the situation from the youngest child, who for awhile lives relatively ignorant.

Last year, I did a unit on the book called The Girl Who Owned a City. A virus proves deadly for all individuals who are over 12 years of age. The children must learn to survive without them. A ten year old girl takes charge, and very little is ever said of sickness or lack of food or heat. Basically, it is a pithy preteen pipe dream. In reality, it takes the form of libertarian propaganda. Anyway, this book sucks compared to Life As We Knew It. I should mention that Life As We Knew It is a definite YA book, while The Girl Who Owned a City is an upper intermediate book. TGWOAC was riddled with unrealistic situations: nothing was ever mentioned about the need to use an outhouse, a stocked food warehouse was never discovered or pillaged by anyone other than the protagonist and her gang. LAWKI also has a few flaws. The most glaring one is that the protagonist's well water still works for months after the electricity is turned off.

That's all for know, folks (a.k.a. my husband). I'm still going to try to tackle A Christmas Carol over my beach break. Hey, Christmas in July! But I'll probably just find something else to read instead.