Debugging Tori Redding by Jason Ancona

Debugging Tori Redding by Jason Ancona
Published: December 20, 2010
Publisher: Jason Ancona
(300 pages, ebook)
Summary: Fed up with her peers and their loose morals, Tori starts a new school program, the Not So Fast club, a group dedicated to keeping teens from doing everything they want to do--drink, have sex, and rush to grow up. 

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A severe toothache interrupts her plan, sending her to the dentist, where she's given an emergency root canal. During the surgery, she's electrocuted and ends up blacking out. When she awakes, her brain has the ability to function like a computer. 

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Tori uses her new skills and aggressive personality to charge up the club.
Hated by the entire school, she discovers that NSF now stands for: Narcs Suck Farts. Game on. Tori memorizes every school rule, issuing tickets for every little infraction.
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After a serious crime occurs, Tori must use her talents to save a life, all while trying to free herself from her mind.

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My thoughts: The concept for Debugging Tori Redding was what first drew me in. I mean, how cool would it be to have a computer for a brain? Or so I thought, anyway. I really loved Tori as a character; she wasn't like most teenagers (and not just because of her computer-brain). She wants kids to slow down, and think about their actions instead of racing forward and growing up so fast. She was a complex character, and she was a bit of a smart-ass. Which I can always appreciate. The story was nicely paced, and while it wasn't the deepest or most thought-provoking plot, it was thought-out and a light, enjoyable read.

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I really liked the way Ancona executed the whole computer-for-a-brain part of the story. It was weird and kind of random, but it worked, and it worked well. It was a nice device (and definitely handy for Tori - even if it did have its problems) and it was really original. Which, if you've read any of my reviews, you'd know scores a lot of points for me.

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My favorite part of this novel was the message it conveyed. A lot of YA promotes moving forward and growing up while still in your teens, and while I don't dislike those novels, I liked how different this one was. Tori is genuinely concerned about her peers and I liked the way Ancona portrayed her. She was wacky and out-there (like I'm one to judge) and I really enjoyed reading about. The secondary characters, while I felt were a little bit un-fleshed-out were still good characters and they helped the story move forward.

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I have to say, the writing in it wasn't fantastic. Despite the original story line and how much I liked Tori, the writing sometimes got a little strange, considering it was third-person omniscient and in present tense. It felt a little clunky. One of the things I wasn't expecting about this novel was how funny and realistic it was. Having grown up (and still living with) brothers of my own, I felt Tori's pain, and I admired how much she stood up for herself. But overall, I really enjoyed reading it. The story line was interesting enough that I didn't get bored, and the pacing was great. I would recommend Debugging Tori Redding to readers looking for a light, easy read with an interesting twist.

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Covering the Cover: I really like the cover. So much I wish I had it as a hard copy. It's perfect for the story, and it looks cool.
Characters: 3/5
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Overall Rating: 3 stars

World War Z by Max Brooks

Title: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
Author: Max Brooks
Published: September 12, 2006 by Crown
(342 pages, paperback)
Summary: The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.
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My thoughts: I got this book as an early Christmas present, and despite not meeting a lot of my expectations, I actually enjoyed World War Z. More than anything, it was more of a look on government, and how our society would react to zombies. Because of the fact I'm more of an action fan, and wasn't totally looking forward to 342 pages of political opinions, I found myself engaged in this book. It wasn't fantastic, and it certainly didn't contain the proper amount (in my zombie-obsessed opinion) of zombies, but Brooks does a good job of portraying a possibility if the world were to be suddenly overrun with the undead.
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My favorite parts, and also the most well-written and interesting parts, were the ones about how regular civilians reacted to the onslaught of zombies. The stories (er, interviews) with regular, every day citizens from different countries, were the most intriguing and descriptive. I loved reading about how the survivors managed to become survivors. Brooks is a great writer when it comes to battles too, and I was really engrossed in the stories. Some of the more political parts, with interviews from government officials and presidents, were a little boring to me, but I'm sure it would have been more interesting to someone more involved. It was well-written throughout, if a little slow, and I found myself kind of invested in just how horrible the world had become.
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World War Z isn't so much a zombie book as a reaction to zombies book, and while it wasn't what I expected, it was still an entertaining, interesting novel. I'd recommend it more to people interested in the government and how they respond to crisis', but if you're a die-hard zombie fan, it was a good novel to read.
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Overall rating: 3 stars

Dark Song by Gail Giles

Title: Dark Song
Author: Gail Giles
Published: September 7, 2010 by Little Brown Books
(304 pages, hardcover)
Summary: It was always somewhere deep inside her...
the thumping pulse of darkness, a rhythmic and hypnotic song.
Ames Ford has a perfect life--that is, she had a perfect life, until her father is fired and her family has to move from their mansion in Colorado to a slum in Texas. Now her mother won't stop yelling, her father won't stop drinking, and her little sister hides with a pillow over her head to drown out the fighting.
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Then she meets one who awakens the darkness.
Marc: Mysterious. Experienced, Rebellious. Gun-obsessed. But he loves her more than anything. He won't let anyone hurt her, and he won't let anyone stand in his way where Ames is concerned--especially her parents. And when was the last time they did anything but ignore, dismiss, hurt, or betray her?
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Then he gives her a choice. Him... or them.
Just how far is Ames willing to go? For loyalty? For revenge? For security? For love? Gail Giles, acclaimed author of What Happened to Cass McBride? and Shattering Glass, will have you questioning what you'd do at your breaking point.
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My thoughts: I was totally intrigued by this book because of the title and because of the cover. When I read the inside cover, I was running to the library counter. The story starts out slow, and I even put the book down for a while because it got downright boring at times. I really liked the way Giles wrote, but sometimes her details got cluttered and the angst-y feelings Ames has got overwhelming. The back story of the perfect family's decent into poverty takes up the full first half, and while it was somewhat necessary to show us how perfect her life used to be, I thought some of the descriptions were unneeded. At times, I would go back and re-read something that had no real relevance to the story just to see if it was connected at all. That being said, the writing was actually really good, just kind of drowned out by some random ramblings.

o

Ames seemed like a sweet, nice girl, and while i understand her slow decent into rebellion and why she ends up the way she does, it all seemed kind of sudden. Her mother was cruel from the start, her father 'wonder Dad,' and her little sister was cute and sweet, so I didn't really understand how having less money made her so hateful. The character development seemed a little jerky, and more than a little sudden. It was like going from Point A to Point B without understanding how we got in-between. One moment she hates her mom, and the next she might be 'the only one who understands her.' Her father is great and nice with a small drinking problem and next thing you know, he's almost hitting Ames and is an alchoholic. The descriptions of her parents' downfall were realistic and raw, but I didn't quite grasp how they got so bad so suddenly.

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Ames seems smart through the entire novel. Well, until she meets Marc; suddenly she's blinded to everything but the maybe protection he can give her. Marc was also a bit of an underdeveloped character; by all means was he unstable and I wanted to smack Ames a few times for not seeing how dangerous he was. But he was also protective of Ames, and had obviously been through some sort of trauma that made him the way he was, and I think Giles used him as more of a tool than an actual character. Also, their relationship seemed rushed and made completely out of mutual trust and respect, not real attraction or affection.

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By no means was this novel all bad, though. I really liked how Giles described the dark parts of Ames' thoughts, and I liked the voice she used for Ames' thoughts; it was gritty and well-written. I got chills a little when I was reading how dark her thoughts became. I also really liked how the story that Ames thought was her real life unraveled. It was sad how fake her parents were with her from the start, and it was a good portrayal of how trusting kids can be if the facade is well done. The story concept was interesting and intriguing. Giles has a talent for weaving a well-thought out novel. The outcome wasn't fantastic, but I enjoyed it.

o

Cover: 5/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Writing: 3 stars
Overall Rating: 3 stars

Forever... by Judy Blume

Forever... by Judy Blume
192 pages, Paperback
Published on March 9, 2001
Summary: When you build up something in your mind — really imagine it, wish for it — sometimes, when it actually happens, it doesn't live up to your expectations. 
True love is nothing like that.
Especially not for Katherine and Michael, who can't get enough of each other. Their relationship is unique: sincere, intense, and fun all at the same time. Although they haven't been together all that long, they know it's serious. A whole world opens up as young passion and sexuality bloom.
But it's senior year of high school, and there are big changes ahead. Michael and Katherine are destined for another big "first": a decision. Is this the love of a lifetime, or the very beginning of a lifetime of love?

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So, why am I doing yet another review from years ago, actually written in the 80s, back before I was even born? Well, as much as I'd love to be writing only reviews for new novels, a) I have a limited budget and can't always buy the latest novels; b) My goal is 365 reviews in 365 days and that doesn't exactly allow for pickiness; and c) Since most readers don't always read the latest novels, it's nice to see reviews of novels that were released a while ago. I feel like sometimes older novels get shoved aside too quickly to make room for new ones. Okay, stopping my random, boring rant now.

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Overview: Forever... is a romance about first love and first expierences. this novel's short, and I know some die-hard Blume fans that all said it was fantastic and realistic and heart-wrenching. And I even remember being in 6th grade and begging my parents to let me read this novel. Well, honestly, I'm glad they said no all those years ago. Forever... is sexually explicit and while it is honest, it also seemed a little too sex-related. The whole novel basically revolved around Michael pushing Katherine into sleeping with him. In fact, over half the novel was spent on why Katherine doesn't want to do it and why Michael does. After the first 100 pages, Michael got a little less obsessive and I actually kind of liked him once he wasn't so sex-crazed. He kind of seemed sweet and they made a cute couple. But the author cut out basically everything but their relationship from the book, making it seem like Katherine was a clingy, obsessive girlfriend who only cared about her boyfriend. The rest of their lives were hinted at, with a few mentions of other activities, but they were few and far between. Also, it seemed like some of the details included within the story seemed random and useless. For instance, Katherine would go on for a few pages about Michael and her, then mention her father was attractive, and then go back to describing her relationship. The story was realistic and sad and cute at times, making it a not terrible novel, but not one to go running out to grab.

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Katherine was nice, shallow, and clingy. Michael was sweet, sex-obsessed, and dense. Now, I know these descriptions can be a bit contradicting, but that's the overall view I was left with of them. And I was slightly confused by how Katherine went from wanting to hold off, to feeling sorry that she had made Michael wait all that long. In all honesty, she didn't make him wait long at all, in fact, their relationship went to the next level really, really fast. They were cute together and after a while I cared about them and hoped things ended up for the best. The other characters, their friends, Artie and Erica, had an interesting story, along with Sybil, their other friend who gets pregnant, but Blume's focus was solely on Michael and Katherine's relationship so they were left underdeveloped. My biggest grievance with this novel was Katherine's parents, though. I know this book was written in the 80s, but did dads normally encourage their daughters to date multiple guys at the same time back then? And since when do parents get to say what jobs you take? It upset me that Katherine let her parents dictate so much of her life, and how strangely her dad acted. On a side note I found it creepy that Michael named his, er, manhood, Ralph. Do guys really do that? Because I might have to re-think some things if they do...

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The story was the book's downfall. I actually liked the premise and started in on the book soon after I received it because I expected an easy, light, simple read about the firsts of serious relationships. And that's what I got, for the most part. Until the end, that is. Okay, so spoiler, but I'm not going hide it because I'm going to explain my problems with the ending for a while. It seemed like Blume had pre-determined that Katherine and Michael weren't going to last. They were close, cute, and totally in love with each when they have to leave for different states for a few weeks. They wrote each other every day, and I liked the way they included a bunch of their letters to each other. Then Theo, an older, more sophisticated man steps into the picture and suddenly Katherine isn't in love with Michael, she's only in a relationship with him. And then Michael comes for a visit, wants to sleep with her (which, let's be honest, can't really be blamed, since they'd done it multiple times already) and Katherines screams at him and then they're over. I did a double-take on that one. What?! They were just in love, and then, bam! Katherine's moved on and poor Michael is left behind. I understood their fight, but it seemed more like an argument than a relationship-ending fight. Blume needed to think this one through for a while longer, in my opinion. And the hopeful ending, where Theo calls? Yeah, that didn't magically make the heartbreak go away like I think Blume intended it to.

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The writing was mostly good, with a few errors. 1) The random insights into Katherine's life was weird and random. I don't think most readers cared that her nanny once had a crush on her dad, or that her mom likes toast. These ramblings seemed like meaningless page-fillers to me. 2) Blume was intent on focusing the story on their relationship, which was fine, except that nothing else was included. Some sub-plots were much needed and completely absent, save maybe one tiny story about Artie's depression. 3) Blume seemed to have made bullet points on a page, thought, okay, I'll write about this, then this will happen, then this, then this, so on, so on. And while I'm all for planning ahead, it seemed like the characters were in a play themselves, trapped in a pre-made world where their fates were pre-destined. There were some good things: the writing was accurate, realistic, and did well in portraying first love. Blume accomplished her goal of showing how your first isn't necessarily your last, just like the fact that forever isn't a realistic goal.

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Cover: 4 stars

Characters: 3 stars

Plot: 3 stars

Writing: 3 stars

Overall rating: 3 stars

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Beastly by Alex Flinn
304 pages, paperback
Published: October 1, 2007
Summary: I am a beast. 
A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

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After about the first two pages, I wanted to punch Kyle. Hard. He was snobby, shallow, deceitful, judgmental, and didn't care about anyone but himself. So when the girl he embarrassed in front of the entire school is revealed as a witch, I was pretty darn happy he became a hairy, ugly monster. I was completely set to hate Kyle for the entirety of this novel. Imagine my shock when I realized I actually cared what happened to him halfway through this quick read. Flinn does a great job of humanizing a boy who isn't really human (literally and figuratively) at all. His transformation was realistic and I was thrilled when I realized he wasn't one of the things he started out as. Linda, Kyle's only chance of redemption, was great, if not a little too perfect. I loved how she rejected him at first and very slowly came to love him. She was cute and a book nerd (squeal! I love book characters who love books) and the most sympathetic character in the novel. My favorite character was Will, however. He was a secondary character and I just loved how accepting he was of Kyle's condition. There was something gentle and sweet about him that I just loved.

The story is basically Beauty in the Beast with teenagers and a few modernizations. Flinn sticks pretty stiffly to the original when it comes to the romance, which annoyed me only a little bit. I would have liked to see some differences, but it was good nonetheless. I wasn't staying up late to finish it, but I wasn't putting it off either. The plot was paced pretty well, if not dwelling a bit too much on certain parts. Not once did it get tedious, which was great. The book's beginning was my least favorite part, since I hated Kyle through the whole thing. The middle got interesting and held my attention. But the ending held the best part of the novel. Things picked up and I was honestly worried about the characters a lot. I especially loved how the whole battle scene happened. Flinn really captured the suspense of the big fight scene. The whole rose thing was a nice touch, even though it wasn't quite as vital as in the original. Overall, I really enjoyed the story line of the novel, in particular the pacing.

Flinn's writing style is average in my opinion. She does a good job of getting you caught up in what's happening, but the minor details sometimes get lost in the story. I practically covet descriptive writing and Flinn's just isn't. While her descriptions were mediocre, the overall scenes played out nice and smoothly in my head. Not the highlight of this quick read, but not a low point really, either.

Overview: Kyle and Linda were a perfect match by the end and I loved how cute it all turned out. It's hard to judge the story since it was basically Beauty and the Beast redone, but it was good and gripping in a light, teen fantasy way. Nothing extraordinary in Flinn's first novel. The biggest grievance would be the summary on the back; it seems like this book will be dark, twisted, and a total page-turner. It was more of a light, airy romance taken straight out of a Disney movie. The use of so many name brands also kind of guarantees it a short shelf-life too, since already some of the references are out of date. That aside, my only other complaints were a) the little chatroom parts were kind of out of place and b) the fact that the characters were fifteen and had an undying love for one another was totally unrealistic. But hey, it was a fairy tale. Things aren't exactly scientific. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to fans of fractured fairy tales. This genre has been growing, and Flinn's Beastly is somewhere in the middle on the grand scale of things.

Cover Rating: 4.5 stars
Character Rating: 4 stars
Plot Rating: 3.5 stars
Writing Style Rating: 2.5 stars
Overall Rating: 3 stars