marin reads
in which Marin choses their Gems of the Month
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The store where I work used to do these highlights we name a 'gem of the month', where we select our recommendations and promote them.
These were some of my picks, and what I wrote about them for the store newsletter.
THE VINYL PRINCESS | Yvonne Prinz
While her peers are starting to ditch CDs for downloadable MP3s, Allie thought that nothing could beat the excitement of vinyl. She loved everything about it, from the superior sound quality to the act of reading the lyrics and liner-notes while listening. She spends her summer working at Bob and Bob’s, an independent record store, and writes a blog and zine called The Vinyl Princess. Allie’s story is refreshing, funny, and passionate, as are the other characters that inhabit her world, from her best friend Kit to the wacky customers of Bob and Bob’s. Like a mixtape made by an expert, Prinz’s novel has it all, imbued with a love for great music, quirky, impassioned characters, and entertaining prose. The only turn-off for me was Allie’s staunch anti-iPod/MP3 rants, because really, without MP3 downloads, us third-world country music geeks would never get to listen to anything. Not to mention the fact that one could make as great an iMix as one could make a mixtape, if they really wanted to. Why do we need a vinyl/ipod division, anyway? I for one love vinyl records (don’t have a working turntable anymore, though) and listening to mixes on iPods equally.
- January 2010 Pick
HarperCollins, December 22nd 2009, 9780061715839 | YA Contemporary
BONESHAKER | Cherie Priest
Sixteen years after the the destruction of Seattle, Briar Wilkes only wanted to get through life unnoticed. The daughter of a hero and the widow of the villain who destroyed Seattle, her biggest concern was to care for Zeke, her teenaged son. When he runs away into a walled city where toxic fumes turn you into the living dead, and the chances of a young boy surviving was close to zero, she boards an airship to chase after him. Both Briar and Zeke encounter a world full of mechanical marvels and post-apocalyptic horror, while they are helped by a colorful cast of air pirates and are hunted down by a creepy evil genius. Whether you are into zombie fiction, alternate history, steampunk aesthetics, or just love fast-paced action thrillers, Priest’s excellent characterization and world building promises the adventure of a lifetime.
- November 2009 Pick
Tor Books, September 29th 2009, 9780765318411 | Fantasy, Steampunk
OF BEES AND MIST | Erick Setiawan
Meridia grew up in a strange, oppressive household, haunted by fog and heavy mists. When she falls in love with Daniel, she thought that she would finally escape the cold mists enveloping her family, but instead discovered that her new home is infested by bees that seem to be connected to the presence of her mother-in-law, Eva. The bees buzz around family members, causing them to turn against each other in jealousy, hate and suspicion. Are the mists, bees and ghosts in this story real, or extensions of all the things the characters try to hide from themselves and each other? This beautifully written debut by Setiawan is at once a heady fairy tale brimming with magic and metaphor, as well as a brilliant exploration of the life and relationships between women.
- September 2009 Pick
Simon & Schuster, August 4th 2009, 9781416596240 | Literary Fiction
WHEN YOU REACH ME | Rebecca Stead
When Miranda first receives the cryptic note saying, "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own", she was scared but not overly concerned. But as more letters arrive, in the most unlikely of places, and saying things that have yet to happen, Miranda begins to wonder if the sender was telling the truth. Who was the mysterious writer, and what was the terrible thing that they are trying to prevent? What made this 2010 Newbery medal winner structurally perfect may be the way Stead leaves subtle clues throughout the novel, slowly building up to a perfect ending, and what made it beautiful was Stead's fragmented writing. However, it is Miranda's character that made this book an important one, as her sharp observations about herself and the people around her are at once amusing, endearing and thought-provoking.
- August 2009 Pick
Wendy Lamb Books, July 14th 2009, 9780385737425 | Middle Grade Fiction
THE HUNGER GAMES | Suzanne Collins
What if you lived in a world where anyone under eighteen could be randomly chosen to enter a reality show where you would have to fight each other to death?
When her gentle, younger sister was one of the chosen contestants from her district, Katniss volunteered to take her place. However, Katniss did not intend to take things lying down - she is an experienced hunter and will use all that she has to win. As she grapples with the idea of having to commit murder in order to survive, Katniss is also torn by her feelings towards Peeta, a fellow contestant who she might have to kill to win the Games. The world Collins had created seem more barbaric because of how civilised it is, as contestants try their best to win sponsors and have stylists to dress them before they go out into the battlefield, raising a lot of questions about our own reality-tv driven culture. The first of a trilogy, this book is perfectly paced, keeping readers on their toes as the tension increases during life-or-death situation.
- November 2008 Pick
Scholastic Press, October 1st 2008, 9780439023481 | YA SF/F
THE PORTABLE DOOR | Tom Holt
This first of Holt’s J.W. Wells & Co. novels takes a far from traditional approach to fantasy, captivating readers with its quick wit and effortless humor. Set in the London corporate world, it is the last place one would find a wizard or a goblin. However, as Holt’s book proves, even the best and most sinister of sorcerers need to earn a living. In this book, our protagonist Paul Carpenter is ignorant about what the renowned J.W. Wells & Co. actually does, but somehow manages to get himself a position as Trainee Clerk at the company. Determined to keep his first job, he overlooks the strange things that happen to him since he started work. That is, until he discovers that his boss’s evil grin and sharp teeth is not just his imagination. His boss is literally the goblin that Paul thought he was. This discovery leads him to many others, including the fact that his employers are money-minded sorcerers. In a series of humorous mishaps, Paul blunders through his new workplace as he is manipulated into being the company’s resident hero. As Paul finally finds his footing and everything falls into place, the reader will marvel at how Holt makes random events merge seamlessly into a brilliant plot.
- 2007 Pick? (I forgot what month)
Orbit UK, February 5th 2004, 9781841492087 | Fantasy
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