Amulet: Book Five: Prince of the Elves

by Kazu Kibuishi, 199 pages

Max's backstory is revealed, shedding much light on his actions in the present, as Trellis and Emily slip in and out of the past in their struggle to understand the Voice and how to right their world.

Ah, now I have more sympathy for Max.  And it's good to see Trellis and Emily overcoming their original antipathy and contrasting mindsets in their efforts to fight a common enemy, whatever its true nature.  Kibuishi has created an involving world and story, here, and I just wish we didn't have to read it in pieces, as I'm always wanting the next one.

"The Red House" by Mark Haddon

264 pages

Richard, a wealthy doctor, invites his sister Angela and her family to join him, his new wife, and his stepdaughter for a week at a vacation home in the English countryside. His invitation is an attempt to repair his relationship with Angela, as they haven't been in touch since they drifted apart as their mother died years earlier. Angela brings her husband and three children, all of whom she is feeling alienated from. Needless to say, putting this group together for a week creates a new level of familial dysfunction and drama. 

I picked this one up because I loved Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The Red House just didn't do it for me, though. It lacks the charm and intrigue of Curious Incident.  In that story, I was totally interested and invested in Christopher, the autistic narrator. In this book, I just didn't care about any of the characters. I didn't think they were good people. I like for characters to have flaws, but I also need them to have some redeeming qualities and I didn't find any here. I did like Angela's youngest son, but he's forgettable enough that I can't remember his name. Bottom line: if I don't care about any of the characters, I usually don't care about the book. 

"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" by Shirley Jackson

146 pages

Merricat and her sister Constance live in Blackwood family mansion with their ailing uncle Julian. Constance and Julian never leave the property, while Merricat only goes into town once a week to get food and other necessities. The townspeople fear and mock them because their entire family was murdered years ago and Constance is widely believed to be the killer though she wasn't convicted. The little family has reached an uneasy peace by isolating themselves in their home, but the arrival of a long-lost cousin threatens to disrupt their world. 

I loved this creepy classic. Jackson has mastered the art of using subtle psychological elements to create something that's much more disturbing than a simple gory horror story. Merricat is an unreliable but fascinating narrator, and I enjoyed trying to figure out what was really going on. 

"City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2)" by Cassandra Clare

453 pages

Clary's life has sort of become a mess since she found out that werewolves, vampires, and faeries are real and that she is a demon-slaying Shadowhunter. Her mom is in a magically induced coma, and she just found out that the boy she thought she was falling for is actually her brother. But now things are getting even more crazy: someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. It seems that Valentine--Clary and Jace's evil, deranged father--is behind the killings, which are part of an even bigger, more sinister plan. When the second Mortal Instrument, the Soul Sword, is stolen, it seems that all is lost. Clary and her friends have to pull out all the stops to keep Valentine from starting a war between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. 

I think this is the last Mortal Instruments book I will read. I rarely don't finish a series I start, but I just can't handle any more of these. I'm not sure why they annoy me so much because I really like the Clare's prequel series, the Infernal Devices. I guess I just don't like these characters as much. And yeah, I'll come out and say it--I just can't handle the incest stuff. I have a feeling that Clary and Jace will turn out to not be brother and sister, but it's still gross that they make out and are so hung up on each other when they think they're siblings. I'm sort of interested in what happens, but I think I'll just read up about it on Wikipedia and save myself some time. 

"Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever" by Jack McCallum

352 pages

The basics of the story are well known. It was 1992, the first year that professional basketball players were allowed to play in the Olympics. NBA superstars including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley made up the US team that took the world by storm. What's not as well known, however, is what went on behind the scenes. The team bonding and the power struggles and the fighting. The drama surrounding the selection process. The way that all of the players learned to join with their rivals and take on the rest of the world. Drawing on records from 1992 as well as fresh interviews with the players, McCallum provides an insider's account of the Dream Team phenomenon. 

I was only seven years old when the first Dream Team took to the court, but I remember being totally in awe. At the time I just liked watching all their exciting, flashy plays, but as an adult I've enjoyed hearing more of the inside scoop on what was really going on. McCallum was in the thick of it back then and still has access to the players today, so he provides a very well-rounded account. I also think he's quite fair to all the players without glossing over their flaws. He throws quite a bit of humor into the mix, making the book even more fun. I say it's a solid must-read for NBA fans.  

"Fear (Gone #5)" by Michael Grant

509 pages

It's been a year since everyone over the age of fourteen disappeared from Perdido Beach, California. The kids left behind have been through a lot: constant hunger, a vicious plague, and of course ongoing struggle for power. For a while, though, things have seemed almost calm. Sam and his crew are living by the lake, while his twin/enemy Cain and his entourage live near the sea. The mutants and the regular kids have reached an uneasy peace. Of course, things can never stay stable for long in the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone). Suddenly, it seems that the dome imprisoning the kids is slowly turning black. And when the lights go out for good, it's going to get worse than ever before for the kids of the FAYZ. There will be no way to grow food, avoid danger, or keep the mysterious, evil Darkness from finally closing in.

This series just keeps getting weirder and weirder. As with the other books, I got annoyed with all the jumping around and bizarre-for-the-sake-of-bizarreness stuff. Also, I think all the books are way too long. There are plenty of little detours in the plot that could be cut out for the sake of clarity and brevity.  However, I like Sam, Astrid, and the others enough to care about what happens to them, and I am intrigued enough by all the craziness that I want to find out what happens in general.

"Every Day" by David Levithan

336 pages 

One day, "A" meets a girl named Rhiannon and can't stop thinking about her. Pretty typical teenage story. What's not typical, though, is that A met her while inhabiting the body of her boyfriend. And he was only there for one day. Because every day A wakes up in a different body, and it's always been like that. He has always woken up in a different body, of someone about his age, each day. He has no race, gender, or economic status (I only say "he" for lack of a better word and to avoid confusion). He's always just dealt with it. He can access the memories of the person he's inhabiting, so he's able to make his way though. After meeting Rhiannon, however, A has something to live for. He's got a goal, and that is to be near Rhiannon, no matter which body he's in. Eventually, the truth comes out, and A finds himself opening up to someone about his life for the first time ever. Unfortunately, this creates more complications than A expected. 

I was really interested in the premise of this book. It's fascinating to think about how someone's personality would develop if it could be stripped of gender, race, and all the expectations that come with it. Levithan is obviously making some statements about gender roles and sexuality, and though they aren't subtle they aren't too heavy-handed. I usually like for mysterious things like what's going on here to be explained at some point, but for some reason it seemed to work here and I just accepted the bizarre situation. I really got into the story and couldn't put it down, but I had some trouble with the ending. It felt anticlimactic and disappointing. Still, I give Every Day a high rating overall for its thought-provoking nature and novelty factor.