Tuesday 28 October 2014

Yours Truly - Annabel Pitcher


First thing about this book, I love its former name, Ketchup Clouds.  I was lucky enough to find a copy of the hardcover Ketchup Clouds at a bookstore in Winnipeg while there for mine and Brian's wedding. (Of course we went to the bookstore the day after our wedding. Duh.) They had both the new paperback Yours Truly copies and the old hardcover Ketchup Clouds copies. I just think the former name is super awesome, so I had to have it.

This book is amazing.  Aside from the actual plot of the book, the format in which she tells the story is so interesting! Seriously, who thinks "I have a heartwrenching story to tell, it should probably be told in a series of letters to a serial killer." Annabel Pitcher does, that's who.  I absolutely love books that have characters who I don't admire or look up to. I love characters who mess up. I love characters who are just beautifully flawed. I've never understood why we want the characters in books to be realistic but also perfect people who always do the right thing.  Kind of contradictory if you ask me.

I haven't really clearly stated what the book is about yet, though. So I will now. Zoe is a teenager who is writing to a serial killer about how she killed a person she loves. That's really all you need to know. And if that didn't convince you, the first few sentences of the book should.

Dear Mr. S. Harris,

Ignore the blob of red in the top left corner. It's jam, not blood, though I don't think I need to tell you the difference.  It wasn't your wife's jam the police found on your shoe.

Seriously. How could that not grab your attention.

So, whether you find a copy with the name Yours Truly, or the former (in my opinion, cooler) name Ketchup Clouds, you should beg/borrow/steal/purchase it and read it.

<3
Lisa

Sunday 26 October 2014

Bad Girls Don't Die - Katie Alender


I really need to decide a day of the week that's gonna be my blog post day. But TECHNICALLY, my last post was last week. So whatever. I'm still kind of sticking to the weekly post statement.

Because it's late October, we're going to review a ghost story! This one is actually one I've been looking at during every trip to the book store and just... didn't take the plunge until recently.  It looked really good, but a) I'm a big wuss when it comes to scary things and I didn't want to cry tears of fear and b) I felt like it was kind of too young for me (coming from the girl who adores Pigeon Finds a Hotdog by Mo Willems ... kind of ridiculous). So finally, I just grabbed it because I'd clearly been gravitating towards it forever.

And I'm glad I did.  Bad Girls Don't Die follows high schooler Alexis through dealing with issues with her family, trying to survive high school, and oh yeah, a possessed little sister. A creepy read that roots itself enough in reality that it just... feels real. I loved how Katie Alender gave me enough information that I wasn't reading without a clue, but there was still enough mystery to leave me wondering where the story was going to take me.

Another thing I love about it is that it's part of a series. I get a tad attached to books and am sad when they're over, so getting a book two and three out the deal? Score. So, if you're looking for a Halloween-ey read, or three, check out this series! Definitely worth checking out.

<3
Lisa

Tuesday 14 October 2014

GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE!!!!!!!! - A.S King

Okay. So, first official post as a Mrs. Also, first late post. (Insert wedding related excuse here.)

I'm not really prepared for this post. But, I needed to put up SOMETHING in honour of Glory O'Brien's History of the Future. It came out today, and the very first thing I did when arriving back in Sarnia (even before entering my house and giving hugs to my poor, neglected, kitty-child, Louie) was head on over to our local independent book seller, The Bookkeeper, and pick up this book. (Holy run on sentences, Batman. This is how I roll.)

I'm not someone who has favourite books. Favourite authors, yes. Books? No. How can you choose a favourite book. It's like choosing a favourite child. Kind of a dick move. But, I've gone and done it. I can honestly say that Glory O'Brien's History of the Future is actually a top contender for my favourite book. (I'm a bit of a commitophobe and can't actually bring myself to type the words 'favourite book'.) (Apparently I really like using parentheses.)

It's a beautifully written book that is full of just...I don't even know the words. But A.S King does. She does the words very well. Brian has pointed out that I should probably mention what the book is about. I thought you would just read it because I said so, but we'll maybe mention a few points for you stubborn people.

It's about these girls who drink a bat. (Yes, drink a bat.) And they start to see things. Past/Future things. And it's kind of scary and crazy and Glory's also learning about herself and her family and who she is and it's really just at least fifteen shades of awesome.

Do yourselves a favour and get this book and treasure it for your entire lifetime.

I'm going to re-read this book now.

<3
Lisa

Monday 29 September 2014

Everything Leads to You - Nina LaCour

I'm setting a bad precedent by writing two days in a row. But I needed to talk about Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour. I first fell in love with Nina LaCour when I read Hold Still. Hold Still is one of my most favourite books EVER and one of the books on the 'relationship shelf' I have with Brian. (This shelf has all of the books that have been significant to our relationship.) It's just an amazing book. I need to reread it and review it. Because seriously. So good.

But, the point is. We picked up Everything Leads to You because of our love for Nina LaCour.  And, it's so good. I'm going to mainly reference one amazing thing about this book.  And that thing is that it's about a lesbian girl. But it's NOT about her being a lesbian. Mind. Blown. Seriously. When's the last time that you picked up a book that had a lesbian character as the main character, but the book wasn't about her being a lesbian or her being accepted or all of the trials she went through? Was it ever? Cause for me, it hasn't been ever. Maybe I've been reading the wrong books. But I love that this book says to lesbian girls, 'yeah. You can experience life in the same way as a straight girl. Just replace the naughty bits of the love interest with female ones.' Done. How cool is that?
 
Also, aside from that, it's an interesting story. Almost all of the characters work in the film industry, so it's super glamorous. But in a relatable normal person way. Not in a movie star kind of way. It's definitely a lighter read than Hold Still, but still really enjoyable. I think it's a perfect read for a teenager, if only because it makes what some people think 'isn't normal' feel perfectly normal.
 
So. Read it. Enjoy it. So good.
 
<3
Lisa

Sunday 28 September 2014

Conversion - Katherine Howe

I decided I needed to get something actually book related up here. Because a lame introduction is boring. So last week, I finished reading Conversion by Katherine Howe.
My fiancé, Brian, and I were spending his hoard of teacher received book gift cards recently (which was awesome, by the way) and he came across Conversion.
Neither of us had heard of the book or Katherine Howe yet, though after reading it I can't imagine why. But anyways. Not the point. It sounded interesting. So we picked it up. It was the only book we picked up impulsively. Everything else was a previously planned purchase, or something Brian needed for school or something.

I am SO GLAD WE PICKED UP THIS BOOK.

Confession. I was in a bit of a reading slump. I was trying to read a large fantasy book that...I just wasn't feeling. Not that it's not an amazing book. It is. Well, I still haven't read it. But based on the others in the series, it's amazing. It's just steak while I was in the mood for chicken, or something like that.

So, enter Conversion. Conversion is both set in a modern Catholic private girl's school and 18th century Salem, Massachusetts. It dances back and forth between a mystery illness that's taking hold of the girls at St. Joan's Academy, and basically the story of one of the girls that's in The Crucible by Arthur Miller.  It's pretty cool, and it completely messes with you. There's no real way to explain it other than that. The stories both have nothing to do with each other and everything to do with each other. So you find yourself while reading one story wondering what that story is implying about what may or may not happen in the other story. But it has a lot of implications and not a lot of outright telling, so you're forced to use your brain to figure out what's going on.

Now, Brian will tell you that typically when a story leaves me not knowing exactly what happened when and where and how I get a little...well...irritated. But Katherine Howe does it in a way that's more interesting and inviting you to form your own opinions of what really is happening.

So, if you're looking for a book that's both modern and not, has a little mystery, real life, and maybe a touch of fantasy (but does it?) then I highly suggest Conversion. I think if you've read The Crucible, it might be even cooler to read, but I haven't and still highly enjoyed this book. And I think it does a good job of explaining where they tie together. But if someone out there has read both, you should probably let me know if it's a touch cooler to read if you've read The Crucible.

<3
Lisa

(Note: The oft mentioned Brian has forced me to underline all the titles as proper grammar dictates and I HATE IT. And by forced I mean, suggested. Ugh. Grammar.)

The Beginning!

So. My name is Lisa Frazer. It looks like my name is Lisa Wyzlic. But it's not. At least for the next couple weeks. I am here to write about the books I read. I'm a pretty big YA fangirl, so just be warned. It's mostly YA. I plan to write at least one a week. So, I guess I better get reading.

<3
Lisa