All Consuming : Bonnie

Consuming "The Chosen One"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:53:38 GMT

The Chosen One

by Carol Lynch Williams

Consumed "Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:34:04 GMT

Dealing with Dragons: The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book One

by Patricia C. Wrede

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:26:12 GMT

Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, Book 1)

by Eoin Colfer

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Emma Vol. 10"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:18:38 GMT

Emma Vol. 10

by Kaoru Mori

WORTH IT!

Consumed "Emma Vol. 9"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:10:24 GMT

Emma Vol. 9

by Kaoru Mori

WORTH IT!

Consumed "The Waters and the Wild"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:39:59 GMT

The Waters and the Wild

by Francesca Lia Block

NOT WORTH IT!

Consumed "The Ask and the Answer: Chaos Walking: Book Two"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:53:49 GMT

The Ask and the Answer: Chaos Walking: Book Two

by Patrick Ness

WORTH IT!

Meh! (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:47:58 GMT

It's Not You, It's Me

by Kerry Cohen Hoffmann

Zoe loves Henry. They’ve been dating for six months, a time when she has counted his kisses and devoted herself entirely to supporting Henry and his band. Which makes it all the more devastating when Henry breaks up with her. Zoe pretends to be fine with it, but only because she is sure she can win Henry back. Despite warnings from her friends and family, Zoe dives headlong into obsession; she writes Henry poems and creates photo-collages; she sneaks them into his bedroom and his school locker while stealing pens and smelling his clothing. Her two best friends do what they can to stop Zoe and then finally give in, helping her try to win him back by making him jealous. Over the course of a month, we see Zoe’s life after D-Day, Dumping Day, and how she overreacts, obsesses, and embarrasses herself, finally realizing that giving herself up to be with Henry was a mistake.

This book tends to hit you over the message to stay true to yourself. Zoe moves into stalker territory fairly quickly and you’ll find yourself cringing at her poems and her addiction to Henry. However, teens may find a lot to relate to in Zoe’s story. Hoffmann captures the pain of having to see an ex at school every day and listen to the rumors fly, adding in humor to lighten the mood. Some of the characters are stereotypes – there’s the boy that Zoe obviously should be dating, the inattentive parents, and the well-meaning-but-goofy teacher. The ending also wraps up too quickly, with Zoe’s big embarrassing moment passing in a blur and her sudden realization that she needs to let Henry go. This is a meh book, not bad, but not one you must have.

Consumed "It's Not You, It's Me"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:47:58 GMT

It's Not You, It's Me

by Kerry Cohen Hoffmann

Consumed "Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:13:22 GMT

Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened

WORTH IT!

Consuming "Sunshine"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:48:10 GMT

Sunshine

by Robin McKinley

Consumed "Give a Boy a Gun"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:15:13 GMT

Give a Boy a Gun

by Todd Strasser

WORTH IT!

Consumed "King of Thorn Volume 4 (King of Thorn)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:49:10 GMT

King of Thorn Volume 4 (King of Thorn)

by Yuji Iwahara

WORTH IT!

Consumed "King of Thorn Volume 3 (King of Thorn)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:44:39 GMT

King of Thorn Volume 3 (King of Thorn)

by Yuji Iwahara

WORTH IT!

Consumed "The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Chaos Walking)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:18:53 GMT

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Chaos Walking)

by Patrick Ness

WORTH IT!

A story about "The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Chaos Walking)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:18:53 GMT

The Knife of Never Letting Go: Chaos Walking: Book One (Chaos Walking)

by Patrick Ness

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown and, in one month, he will be a man. But Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. First, there are no women in Prentisstown – they all died years ago, when the aliens called Spackle released a germ that created Noise. And that’s the second thing… the Noise. Every one can hear everyone else’s thoughts, from the tiniest squirrel to the loudest man. It’s an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise that cannot be ignored. There is no quiet, no privacy, and no room for secrets.

Or is there? When Todd and his dog, Manchee, are exploring the swamp one day, they discover a pocket of silence, where there is no Noise. And the source of the quiet is a girl, something that Todd never expected to see. Todd does his best to keep the girl a secret from the rest of Prentisstown. But Todd isn’t the only one keeping secrets – the men of the town have been hiding something from him, something about their past and the legacy that belongs to each boy that becomes a man there. Soon Todd finds himself running for his life, trying to escape a past he didn’t know existed. But how can you run when those chasing you can hear your every thought?

The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first in the Chaos Walking series. I thought it was a little slow to start with – this is a world that feels recognizable when you see the settler life that Prentisstown is leading, and you think you know where things are going when the rug gets pulled out from under you. Todd knows almost nothing about his town’s dark history or the surrounding world, so you are constantly having to revise the way you understand Todd’s world. This got to be a little bit overwhelming, which is how it should be for Todd, but wore on me as I was reading.

The concept of Noise, of trying to keep your thoughts private or calm or layering them so that you can keep something to yourself, as really intriguing, and I liked the connection the author made between the way we’re bombarded with all kinds of information today. The way Noise is expressed in the book is very powerful, and I would’ve liked to have seen that appear a bit more throughout. You also got a strong sense of the desperation that Todd and Viola must feel and the hopelessness of their journey, which can be a bit crushing to the reader… particularly when it comes to Chapter 31. I had a good cry at the end of that chapter.

This book does have one of my all-time favorite openings: “The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About anything.” With such a great opening, it can feel like a bit of a slog to continue those first few chapters. However, this book is worth it!