Book Review: The Sweet Far Thing

by Libba Bray

The 3rd installment of Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty saga is well worth the wait. I have put off reading this one because it is just so long and I have had little time, but I am so glad I finally did.

Gemma and her friends at the Spence Academy try picking up the pieces after Gemma binds the magic to herself and seals the Realms, but the right path is unclear and treacherous. Gemma finds herself very alone in her tasks to make it all right and finds herself dealing with her upcoming debut into society as well.

The story wraps up the loose ends well, but still leaves the story open for more. I for one hope she has plans to write a fourth, but I haven't heard anything about that. I will warn you, this book has some unexpected turns and left me just a bit sad. I cannot say more or I may spoil it.

Meg Cabot Interview from The Page Flipper

Meg Cabot is the author of several books in the YA and Adult genre (as well as a recently-released kids' book). How to be Popular, the Mediator series, and the Princess Diaries books are all favorites of mine, as is her soon-to-be-released Airhead. And lucky for me, I got to interview her!!

What's something quirky about you that people would be surprised to hear?

I don't know how quirky it is, but I have a terrible potty mouth. I have to sit in the car--or even the book store break room--and swear steadily for about fifteen minutes to myself before every event to get it out of my system so I don't accidentally say the F word during a signing. When people hear my family speaking amongst ourselves, they always think we're fighting, because we swear so much. But we're not fighting. We're just Irish Catholics.

If you could choose to be any one of your fictional characters, who would you choose and why?

You know, I never answer this question on the grounds that just like your mom always says she likes all her kids the same, I like all my characters the same. It isn't true, of course, but I don't want to hurt any of my other characters' feelings, just like your mom doesn't want to make you feel bad by saying she likes your brother better than you.

Can you name three of your favorite YA books that were recently released, and three that have been released for over five years?

Oh, wow, how can I narrow it down to three? This is hard, I know I'll be leaving out tons. But here goes:
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson; Audrey Wait by Robin Benway; Wish You Were Here by Catherine ClarkBad Kitty by Michele Jaffe; Miss Smithers by Susan Juby; If We Kiss by Rachel Vail.

If you've been compared to other authors, which comparison were you most honored by?

I'm not kidding, one time this little kid came up to me at a book signing and handed me the dictionary. I told him I didn't write the dictionary, but he said he didn't care. So you know. Being mistaken for the author of the dictionary was pretty cool.

I absolutely adored the Mediator series. Have you ever had any paranormal or scary experiences? Or just plain weird ones?

Wow thanks! When I worked in a dorm at NYU we actually did have one room where weird things kept happening--drawers would open for no reason, doors would open and slam shut when there was no wind. It was a girls' suite and I would have hysterical girls down in my office at all hours ALL THE TIME. I was never a "believer" and thought these girls were crazy, but there were things that happened in that room there that there was no rational explanation for (and because every year the residents changed, and they were always freshmen, it wasn't like someone was TELLING the girls that room was haunted from year to year).

And then finally a girl who claimed to have psychic powers moved in there and she came down the very first day of check in, very calmly, claiming to have seen the ghost and talked to him. She wanted a room change because she said living with a ghost all year was going to be too distracting. I immediately sent her counseling services because I was like, "PSYCHO." And counseling services sent her right back to me--they had records that a guy fitting the description she gave HAD killed himself in that room back in the 70s when the dorm was law school housing, and that she came from a family who was sensitive to paranormal phenomena. They told me to please move her to a different room and to stop being so close-minded. After that, I believed.

(I had already started writing the Mediator when all this happened, incidentally--this had nothing to do with the books. So it just creeped me out even more.)

In Avalon High, reincarnation is a topic. What person from the past would you like to be reincarnated from?
Hmm. I actually do believe in reincarnation, but I wouldn't say I was Jane Austen or anyone like that in a past life, because I haven't exactly written books this time around that I expect to be loved for centuries--just to be enjoyed right now. If I were anyone famous, I would like to think I was the author Anita Loos, who wrote Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, or maybe Sally Benson, who wrote two of my all time favorite books, Meet Me In St Louis and Junior Miss (also the screenplay for Shadow of a Doubt). They're fun authors whose books were popular during their lifetime but aren't so much NOW, who died around the time I was born, so it's POSSIBLE. But I think it's more likely I was a prairie housewife who had a million kids because the one thing I have NEVER EVER wanted was kids and I feel like it's because I already had about 20 of them (obviously in a past life).

In How to be Popular, the main character strives to be well-liked. Have you ever done something out-of-character in order to impress others?

You mean like save all my babysitting money and get a perm and move to England to spend my summer with a boy I'd only known for two weeks who turned out to be on the Dole and with whom I had nothing in common? No, I have no idea what you're talking about.

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Ha! Thanks a ton, Meg, for doing this! :)

And thank you Page Flipper for letting me post this!!! -Lauri

And by the way, Airhead is now available.

Book Revie from The Story Siren: Nobody's Princess

by Esther Friesner

She is beautiful, she is a princess, and Aphrodite is her favorite goddess, but something in Helen of Sparta just itches for more out of life. Unlike her prissy sister Clytemnestra, she takes no pleasure in waving and embroidery. And despite what her mother says, she’s not even close to being interested in getting married. Instead, she wants to do combat training with her older brothers, go on heroic adventures, and be free to do what she wishes and find out who she is.

Not one to count on the gods—or her looks—to take care of her, Helen sets out to get what she wants with steely determination and a sassy attitude. That same attitude makes Helen a few enemies—such as the self-proclaimed "son of Poseidon" Theseus— it’s also what intrigues, charms, and amuses those who become her friends, from the famed huntress Atalanta to the young priestess who is the Oracle of Delphi. (summary from book)

I enjoyed Friesner’s rendition on the story of Helen’s youth. I really liked getting to know more about the ancient Greeks and their customs. The plot flows well and is interesting throughout the entire story. I can’t wait to read more about Helen’s character and her adventures in Nobody’s Prize. If you enjoy historical fiction or mythology, I think you would enjoy this book!

The Page Flipper Book Review: Sweethearts

by Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr, author of Story of a Girl, is back with her new book Sweethearts, a heartfelt, lovable story in the backdrop of a struggle between the past and present.

Jennifer and Cameron had been best friends when they were children. Both growing up with a hard life, they bonded with a strength that surpasses most childhood friendships. But then suddenly, Cameron's gone, without a note or any sign left behind as to why. And then Jennifer hears the news; Cameron's dead.

Jennifer pictured Cameron's funeral in her head, burying her old self along next to him. Within the eight years since Cameron died, she stopped sneaking and stealing food, started exercising, and became a new person. She's now Jenna Vaughn; pretty and popular, living in the present.

But then Jenna gets a note in the mail. A note from the supposedly dead Cameron. And her life changes drastically.

Sweethearts is one of those books that you start reading, and just can't stop. Page after page, Jenna's and Cameron's story grew and kept me interested. Flipping through their past and present, you can see how much someone's past affects who they are today. Sweethearts comes out in February 2008, so make sure to look out for it.