63. 
Title: [The Family Fang]
Author: Kevin Wilson
Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: October 7, 2012
Rating: ***

Not so long ago, an "artist" "preformed" the birth of her son in a gallery, and announced that his poor life would from that moment become her art.  I still find every aspect of this repugnant, so my reading of The Family Fang leads me to see the novel as far too pertinent.  Following the present and past "works" of the "artists" known as the Fang Family, the novel focuses on the self-absorption of the parents, and the deep psychological damage done to children who are used by their parents. (I would argue that Annie and Buster would be just as fragile if their parents pushed them in other occupations as strongly as they do their performance art.)  Why just three stars?  A lack of sympathy; the characters are too flawed for me to connect, leaving the narrative feeling dry and distant.  In my reading, there is only one character worth saving, and her  partial redemption is my only comfort in reading this novel. 

64.  
Title: [Feed]
Author: M.T. Anderson
Pages: 320
Genre: YA Dystopian
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: October 14, 2012
Rating: **

At a panel on Dystopian YA at the MWPCA Conference, one of speakers heralded Feed as one of the classics of dystopian fiction - specifically dystopian YA - that will stand the test of time, even when the current trend fades.  As a fan of the genre, I rushed to buy this supposedly genius work (of which I had previously heard nothing). 

The kindest thing I can say about this novel is that it is annoying.  Attempting Burgess-like dialect and slang, Anderson's text, while demonstrating the deterioration of intellect caused by the use of the Feed and the impossibility of full communication in the present society, grows stale within just a few pages, and serves as nothing more than a hindrance to the story as a whole.  The ideas are themselves unoriginal; or, if Anderson is the original creator, then his novel has not stood the test of time in keeping his original ideas fresh and interesting.  I would argue that this novel is not a "classic" to remain current throughout time; this is certainly no Fahrenheit 451.

65.
Title: [Lies Beneath]
Author: Anne Greenwood Brown
Pages: 320
Genre: YA
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Borrowed from Library
Date Completed: October 17, 2012
Rating: ***1/2

The folkloric history of mermaids is far more sinister than Disney allows, and Brown's mermaids are more of a traditional cast than the animated re-imagining.   I appreciate any text that continues to portray monsters as monsters, as the current trend is to romanticize anything that would really like to eat you. Brown's novel is engaging, if somewhat shallow and predictable, and manages well the expectations of the genre. 

62.
Title: [The Crossing Places]
Author: Elly Griffiths
Pages: 320
Genre: Cozy mystery
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: September 23, 2012
Rating: ***

There is nothing sensational about The Crossing Places, other than its slightly-odd sensationalizing of archeology (although this isn't that odd, as shows like "Bones" have already done exactly this).  The mysteries are painfully obvious from the first, and so the book offers little in the way of surprise or suspense.  Instead, this becomes a novel about characters, many of whom are shallow, two-dimensional, and downright dull. 

However, despite her many many (human) failings, I found myself sympathetic to Dr. Ruth Galloway; she is a character who is insecure and truly doesn't know her own worth (which can be irritating), but this is tempered by her confidence in her academic field.  This confidence is what saves Ruth for me as a character. 

There is one plot twist that I actually didn't expect, and for this reason I am actually likely to pick up the second book.  Eventually. 

60.
Title: Never Buried
Author: Edie Claire
Pages: 198
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: August 28, 2012
Rating: ***

Never Buried is a formulaic cozy mystery whose most distinguishing narrative technique is the opening scene which describes a cat vomiting.  This features in the Amazon reviews of the book for readers' disapproval, and while I don't share the strength of feeling shared in these reviews, I can agree that the scene adds nothing to the narrative, and will likely only serve to repel readers.  The story itself is a bit clumsy, bogged down by details that are ultimately insignificant, but the mystery itself is decent enough.  I will not run off to buy the next Leigh Koslow novel, but Claire's series is probably a good go-to when desperate for fluff. 

61.
Title: Kitty Steals the Show
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Pages: 352
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: August 31, 2012
Rating: ***

My partner came across a blurb about this book, and recommended it on the basis that it is set in London at an academic conference on supernaturals ("this book couldn't be more you").  The premise is certainly one that seems promising, but I did not initially realize that I was stepping into the tenth book in a running series, which complicated my reading.  Kitty is a standard protagonist in urban fantasy, which actually makes her feel two-dimensional; what I didn't know initially I could suppose, based not on the novel in hand but rather my reading of the genre at large.  As a whole, the novel feels like a transition - a shift in focus for an established series - and for that reason is less interesting for a new reader.  However, my interest has been piqued, so I may be looking to see how Kitty comes to speak at a conference in London in the first place. 

58.
Title: Memories of my Melancholy Whores
Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Pages: 128
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition:
Date Completed: August 4, 2012
Rating: *****

"The Professor" is an old man, and to celebrate the luck of reaching longevity he decides to celebrate his old age in the ordinary sort of way: he will deflower a very young virgin (the younger the better). 

Having never had sex that he didn't pay for (he claims), the Professor calls a madam whom he has known for much of his extended life, and she proclaims that it is impossible, that he is asking far too much, and that she will call him back within an hour. 

As he waits - both for the call, and then for his selected companion to wake from her sleep of utter exhaustion - the reader is treated to an account of some of his escapades, and his reflection on what it means to be old.  The protagonist demonstrates the conceit of the elderly, comfortable that his audience must be interested in his story simply because it is a story he wishes to tell.  The Professor is not an extraordinary man, nor is he even an interesting man, and yet there is charm in his narrative style, and it is this charm that captivates the reader and tricks the audience into believing he may actually be interesting.  

The rising action of the novel is minimal, as most is spent in past reflection of perhaps unusual convictions related to the evolving sexuality of a man, and the few relationships he has had with women (from his mother to a failed fiance to the few prostitutes whom he speaks of as people).  His frustration provides satisfaction for the audience, and the hard-won resolution is perfectly balanced.

Memories of my Melancholy Whores is fascinating and lyrical, and recommended. 

59. 
Title: The Fifth Child
Author: Dorris Lessing
Pages: 144
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Recommend by Linda
Date Completed: August 24, 2012
Rating: *****

Before his birth, Harriett decides that her fifth child is a monster.  As he kicks and struggles in her womb - far too unlike the butterflies of her previous four children - she imagines herself in a struggle with the developing fetus, and wages war with sedatives and physical exertion.  This child is the unwanted child - the child who is conceived far too soon, the child who cannot be welcomed even before his birth, the child who is so different from his four fair older siblings. 

Although occasionally "Poor Ben," the fifth child is more often referred to as "the brute" or "the monster," and his family - Harriett most often - ponders from where this deformed and depraved being could have come - what goblin city or alien world could spawn such a creature.  He is the home-wrecker, the psychopath who seeks to harm his older, cherished siblings even in infancy, the freak of physical development whose strength marks him as something to be feared as opposed to a child to be loved. 

The Fifth Child is a horror story, but the true monsters aren't those identified by the protagonists.  Lessing's novel is a chilling tale of selfishness and cruelty which can leave the reader fearing of the monsters she shares, and those still to come. 

57. 
Title: Thirteen
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Pages: 464
Genre: Supernatural
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Preordered
Date Completed: July 29, 2012
Rating: *****

Kelley Armstrong is one of the stronger urban fantasy authors I have had the pleasure to read.  Unlike some authors, who find themselves laden with too many characters and too little plot as a series continues, Armstrong has no difficulty picking and choosing protagonists for individual novels, and leaving others behind.  For this reason, the series never really becomes stale, and while I prefer certain character sets as a reader, I can appreciate Armstrong's efforts with the series as a whole.

Armstrong has said on Twitter that she always intended the Otherworld series to finish with thirteen books, and so presents Thirteen as the conclusion.  In this installment a great deal of resolution is offered, in largely satisfactory ways.  The conflicts are consistent with the rest of the series, and the characters remain consistent, so the development of the novel will likely appease longtime fans of the series.

As an added bonus, Armstrong revisits the beginning of the series in a prologue, and offers an epilogue for a nicely circular narrative.

I would likely rate this book as a single volume at a 4 or even a 4.5, but Armstrong is bumped to a five for consistency and strong management of the series as a whole.

56.
Title: Sense and Sensibility
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 368
Genre: Classic
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Free download on Austen's birthday
Date Completed: July 28, 2012
Rating: ***

Austen's characters have never before inspired such a great sense of loathing.  I detest Willoughby, am repulsed by Lucy and her idiotic sister, and couldn't even enjoy the satire of their brother and sister-in-law in the face of the couple's hideous natures.  The difficulty is that, though the antagonists are so easily detested, the protagonists are not truly sympathetic. I appreciate Miss Dashwood, but am annoyed by Marianne; I cannot forgive the former for her easy forgiveness, and cannot accept the latter's "romance." 

This is one of the rare instances where I have seen a film version of the text before reading it (having watched the BBC miniseries before), so I was relatively familiar with plot points before I even began.  However, I find that I prefer the characters of the film far more than those of the text, perhaps because they are more appealing when one can't hear their thoughts. 


*Side Note* I have never seen a more ridiculous cover for this text.

55. 
Title: Some Like it Hawk
Author: Donna Andrews
Pages: 352
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Preordered
Date Completed: July 20, 2012
Rating: ***

Some of the polish has worn off Donna Andrews's Meg Langslow series, and Some Like it Hawk isn't nearly as engaging as earlier installments.  The excitement over Meg's personal life is largely over, and although she is still perfectly comfortable running her home as a public building (I feel claustrophobic just reading about it), the somewhat enjoyable chaos is merely more of the same.  Many of the gimmicks of earlier novels - such as that damn gorilla suit - have become obnoxious plot devices as opposed to sentimental allusions, and the plot itself is rather dry, save for one major question: will Meg and Michael lose their house?

This is the question that kept me reading through a rather lackluster story, and the resolution of this question is certainly not a centerpiece of the conclusion.  Overall, much of the story felt ... obligatory.  While I've enjoyed the series thus far, I'm not altogether certain I will bother with the next, should Andrews continue the series. 

53. 
Title: Insatiable
Author: Meg Cabot
Pages:
Genre: YA
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: Incomplete June 2012
Rating:

I didn't give up on this book on purpose.  Rather, my library loan ran out, and I wasn't concerned enough to request it again.  Everything in Insatiable has been done before, but Cabot's version certainly isn't the worst that I've read.

54. 
Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Pages: 272
Genre: Classic
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Free Download
Date Completed:  July 7, 2012
Rating: ****

With my books now packed for the move I'm finally finding time to read some of the things I have downloaded on my Kindle.  Jane Austen's Persuasion is the first that caught my attention, and is pleasant for its charm and comfortable familiarity.  Though I enjoy Austen's satire and dissatisfaction for trivial social pursuits and concerns, the novel as a whole seems less polished than her earlier works.  The narrative style is all Austen, the observations more biting, and many of the characters more realistic and therefore sympathetic. 

51.
Title: The Princess Diaries
Author: Meg Cabot
Pages: 256
Genre: YA
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June ?, 2012
Rating: ***

I've avoided reviewing this book - to the point that I cannot remember when I actually finished reading it - because of a rather lackluster response.  I didn't dislike the book any more than I actually liked it.  I enjoyed the fact that Cabot's original story is very different from the Disney movie (and I appreciated the drunk and slightly-scandalous grandmother in the novel), but it wasn't thrilling.  I'm giving it three starts because I'm sure others would enjoy it.

52.
Title: Witch Way to Murder
Author: Shirley Damsgard
Pages: 304
Genre: Supernatural Cozy Mystery
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: June 26, 2012
Rating: **1/2

Witch Way to Murder gets a low rating for inconsistency and poor research.  The story itself is what one would expect from any cozy - a librarian is attempting to solve a series of crimes in her small town - and a supernatural cozy  - she's inherited a skill for witchcraft which she is oh-so-dramatically resisting because of a past trauma.   

The big problems - inconsistency in plot and characterization - make the "little" problems all the more irksome.  I can think of two examples off the top of my head: there is a vision involving a young girl dancing ballet, described by the protagonist, and likely inspired by some juvenile fantasy of what ballet should look like.  Oh, sure, she throws in the word "arabesque" for good measure, but here's a big tell: ballet dancers don't cross their laces up to their knees.  I promise. 

The second irksome detail?  A librarian who doesn't know how to conduct research.  Specifically, research on the internet.  I can't imagine that a librarian attempting to do research related to the mystery she is solving would a) be so careless in her search attempts and b) would give up on said research after a single results return.  Really? 

Overall, the story seems careless; there are better examples of the genre to be enjoyed.

50.
Title: Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues
Author: Robert Fate
Pages: 269
Genre: Mystery/Crime
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Amazon Loan
Date Completed: June 9, 2012
Rating: ***1/2

The second in the "Baby Shark" series, Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues leaves the personal vendetta behind, and instead focuses on  more traditional territory: PI work, and all the grit and violence Fate can stuff in there.  Less emotionally taxing - and more predictable - Beaumont Blues follows the protagonist through her professional development, and allows Kristin and Otis to shine as the true characters they are.  There's nothing earth-shattering here, but Beaumont Blues is a solid read and a great sequel.