Archive for October, 2010
FROM THE COVER:
If Cyd Charisse knows one thing, it’s that Shrimp is her true love. Shrimp, the hottest pint-size surfer-artist in San Francisco – or ‘that boy’ as her mother calls him. He’s the primary cause of Cyd being grounded, and the boy who dumped her before she left home for the summer.
Now it’s the start of senior year. Cyd has changed, buy maybe Shrimp has too. Cyd and Shrimp need to get to know each other all over again to figure out if this time it’s for real. But can Cyd get back together with Shrimp and keep the peace with her mom? And can she get a life outside of her all-encompassing boy radar?
As far as characters go, Cyd is very likeable. I love her voice: it’s relatable, edgy, spunky. And Shrimp – he’s adorable. At first the two of them seem shallow and underdeveloped, but then their personalities expand and go deeper, and it’s wonderful. Cohn is able to make their relationship unlike other YA romances. Instead of their relationship being rushed and awkward, Cyd and Shrimp take time to move along, and it’s more believable that way. It’s also sweeter.
The writing itself is engaging. Cyd’s voice isn’t quite one-of-a-kind, but it’s different enough that it’s entertaining. The writing isn’t so much about the descriptions as it is the story. As Cyd and Shrimp go back and forth, you won’t want their story to end.?
EXTRA: The series is as follows: Gingerbread, Shrimp, and Cupcake.
The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly thing going on over at Crazy-for-Books. Follow My Book Blog Friday is hosted by Parajunkee. If you’re a new blogger, like I am, or have been blogging for a while, stop by the sites and get involved!
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Weekly question: What is the one bookish thing you would love to have, no matter the cost?
A room filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, like the library in Beauty and the Beast. Or, a personal Barnes and Noble store to run around in would work just as well.
White Is for Magic
Laurie Faria Stolarz
FROM THE COVER:
“I’m watching you…”
One year later. It’s happening again. Seventeen-year-old Stacey Brown is having nightmares – creepy dreams haunted by the ghosts of people who have been brutally murdered.
It’s her senior year at boarding school, and what Stacey really should be focusing on are her classes and getting into college – not to mention the rocky path her love life has been taking lately.
But even if she could ignore the dreams, Stacey can’t ignore the strange letters that she’s been receiving. No return address, no signature – and the same cryptic messages she’s been hearing in her nightmares.
What’s worse is that she’s not the only one having weird dreams. Jacob, a transfer student, claims that he’s been having nightly premonitions of Stacey’s death for months, dreams so realistic that he transferred schools to find her and stop the killer. It doesn’t help that she’s starting to have feelings for him even though she already has a boyfriend. But can she trust Jacob? Or will both their darkest dreams come true?
At times her descriptions are eerily lovely, other times they’re lacking. The language itself isn’t what makes this story, it’s the plot. The characters are nice, but nothing about them necessarily “sticks out.” Stacey is pretty average – aside from having realistic nightmares. Jacob is sweet, cute and everything you’d want your boyfriend to be, but his characterization/personality pretty much stops there. Still, they’re not impersonal. I was able to connect to them both in different ways, but especially to Jacob.
