Books of January

I was all set to write out some kind of hoity-toity intellectual review here, touting the literary successes  and failings of these books; but then I actually started writing and it turned into typical incoherent nonsense in which I ramble about what I OMG LOOOOOVED. So. These won't be reviews or even mini little book reports, just my thoughts, for whatever they're worth (or understood).

And this is of vital importance. My ranking system. I could go with the typical 1-5 star ratings or thumbs up or thumbs down, but let's keep this informal shall we? 

Shannon's Highly Mathematical Ranking System For Judging Literary Quality

1.  HOLY CRAP. WHAT WAS THAT.
2.  Meh.
3.  Good book, I'll add it to my collection
4.  LOVED IT.
5.  OMG. FLAIL. I WANT TO MARRY THIS BOOK.

Got that straight? Not too complicated? Okay, here we go.

1. Sloppy Firsts - Megan McCafferty 
One of the reasons that "Chick-Lit" sometimes annoys me is that it tends to always be the same. Some unlucky-at-love young woman moves to the city or dreams of moving to the city and finding a handsome husband or winning the man she's always been in love with and along the way she meets another guy she hates at first but then slowly learns to love because he really gets her and yadda yadda yadda. (And yes I admit it, I still do read it and enjoy it. BUT, the repetitiveness IS annoying).

This is why I like Young Adult Literature. It's actually about STUFF. Which sounds vague but is true. I'm 27 years old but I can relate to a lot of the issues that these teen characters are going through, especially in terms of the emo "WHAT IS THIS LIFE?" question that is always prevalent. THAT is interesting to me. So this, the first book in the Jessica Darling series, is in fact darling. Which is weird because the main character is sometimes unlikeable and I want to smack her for all the whining she does but then I remember, she's a teenager and so much of what she thinks and feels is what I thought and felt in high school.

She's awkward and lonely and her best friend has just moved away. She doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere at school, she's a stressed out insomniac, she's uncomfortable in her own skin - I relate to these things. And the very conversational way that Megan McCafferty writes dialogue and even Jessica's inner thoughts, bring this whole story to life.

And then there's Marcus Flutie. I love me some Marcus Flutie. I wish I had known a Marcus Flutie in high school. (For that matter, I wish I knew one now). I have no idea why, he's supposed to be a redhead, but I keep picturing him being played by Scott Michael Foster who plays Cappie on Greek. I don't know. But the image works for me.  He's the archetype bad boy who does drugs and sleeps around and mouths off but as we, and Jessica get to know him we see that there's something deeper there (the something deeper being the thing that makes me love him). And in all honesty, Marcus Flutie makes this books for me. I don't know what that says about my reasonings and taste.

RATING: LOVED IT.

2. Second Helpings - Megan McCafferty
Second verse. Same as the first.

And Marcus Flutie is even more AMAZING.

RATING: Good book, I'll add it to my collection. 

3. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
Another Young Adult novel. This one follows Colin, a recent high school graduate who has just has his heart broken by Katherine, the 19th Katherine that's he's dated over the course of his life. Colin is a child prodigy, he's broken-hearted and his best friend decides to cure him by taking him on a road trip.

Along the way Colin attempts to use his enormous brain power to come up with some sort of mathematical equation to pre-determine the outcome of a relationship. We get glimpses into the the past nineteen relationships, and meet a whole new cast of characters that enter his life through the coarse of the book.

So, if you knew the outcome of a relationship before entering into it, would it make a difference? If you knew your heart was going to get broken in the end would you still find the experience to be worth it? I don't know. In hindsight I might be able to say that certain painful moments have been worth it and I wouldn't change those things. But if I knew something was coming, if I met a great guy tomorrow and knew that we would have an amazing relationship but that it would eventually end, would I still put myself through it? Honestly, I have no clue. But it's something to think about.

RATING: LOVED IT

4. The Help - Kathryn Stockett 
One of the marks of a good book for me is if I'm still thinking about it days later. Did the setting feel real? Are the characters still with me? Are the themes still resonating?

In the case of this book, I can give all those questions a resounding YES. YES. YES. YES. I had heard that it was good and have actually had it on my book shelf to read for about six months; so now I'm just wondering what took me so long to read it. SUCH a good book with very real characters and dialogue I could hear perfectly in my head and a story that made it hard to put down.

It presents a very real image of life in Civil Rights era Mississippi, of a time that seems so long ago, of attitudes and perceptions that that seem so archaic and yet, aren't. The 1960's were NOT all that long ago. My own parents were alive during these years and when I think of it in these terms it's a little mind-boggling. And what's even more insane to me? These attitudes STILL exist. Perhaps not on as great a scale, but they're still there, permeating our politics and educational system and the very way we look at and treat each other.

Despite the fact that this story delves into some dark times and ideas, there's still an underlying sense of hope in these pages seen through the relationship that these women form, the difference they attempt to make and the knowledge (of the reader) that things eventually DO change. When I finished the last page it was with a *sigh* of sadness but only because it was over and I wanted to continue on the journey with these characters.

But then of course I just found out that there's a movie coming out staring Emma Stone so this just makes me super happy.

RATING: OMG. FLAIL. I WANT TO MARRY THIS BOOK.