Review: The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz

HarperCollins Canada, 2009

Summer is here, and 16-year-old Allie, a self-professed music geek, is exactly where she wants to be: working full-time at Berkeley’s ultra-cool Bob and Bob Records. There, Allie can spend her days bantering with the streetpeople, talking the talk with the staff, shepherding the uncool bridge-and-tunnel shoppers, all the while blissfully surrounded by music, music, music. It’s the perfect setup for her to develop her secret identity as The Vinyl Princess, author of both a brand-new zine and blog. From the safety of her favourite place on earth, Allie is poised to have it all: love, music and blogging.

Her mother, though, is actually the one getting the dates, and business at Allie’s beloved record store is becoming dangerously slow—not to mention that there have been a string of robberies in the neighbourhood. At least her blog seems to be gaining interest, one vinyl junkie at a time….

From HarperCollins website

The Vinyl Princess is one of those books that I’m kind of meh about. There were aspects that I liked, but, man, there were some elements and characters that I think the book would have been much better without.

Unfortunately, I can’t say a whole lot more without giving away some of the plot, and I really don’t want to do that. What I can say is that I didn’t find the main character, Allie, all that likable. Actually I found her a bit pretentious. We’re supposed to believe she’s “uncool”, but she’s that uncool that is actually cooler than the cool kids, you know? She’s always eating ethnic foods at cute little restaurants and cafes, listens to vintage rock on vinyl and seem to have every rock T-shirt known to man.  And while I know the whole point of the book is that she’s the vinyl princess, I found the constant references to music a bit annoying. I don’t know, it’s kinda hard to explain. I just didn’t like her very much.

And at one point she has an important decision to make, and really, it’s a no-brainer, but because it involves a guy she’s into, she struggles with it. At this point in the book I was ready to scream at her and wanted to give her a good shake. I mean, he’s just a guy! (And no, the decision has nothing to do with sex.) There were a few times I wanted to jump into the book and throttle her.

What I did like was the author’s writing style and while I did find the music references a bit much, I sure can appreciate the author’s vast knowledge of music.

So, yeah, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Vinyl Princess. I’ve heard from lots of others who actually really enjoyed the book. But it certainly wasn’t my cup of tea.

Browse inside The Vinyl Princess.

Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for providing a review copy of The Vinyl Princess.

Review: Tangled by Carolyn Mackler

Paradise wasn’t supposed to suck.

Not the state of being, but a resort in the Caribbean.

Jena, Dakota, Skye, and Owen are all there for different reasons, but at Paradise their lives become tangled together in ways none of them can predict. Paradise will change them all.

It will change Jena, whose first brush with romance takes her that much closer to having a life, and not just reading about those infinitely cooler and more exciting.

It will change Dakota, who needs the devastating truth about his past to make him realize that he doesn’t have to be a jerk just because people think he’s one.

It will change Skye, a heartbreakingly beautiful actress, who must come toterms with the fact that for once she has to stop playing a role or face the consequences.

And it will change Owen, who has never risked anything before and who will take the leap from his online life to a real one all because of a girl he met at Paradise. . . .

From confused to confident and back again, one thing’s certain: Four months after it all begins, none of them will ever be the same.

From HarperCollins website

I have to say, this book wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

I knew it was going to be about four teens whose lives intertwined, but I had assumed their stories would also be intertwined, ala Crash or Magnolia,  but instead the author chose to tell each character’s story separately.  And while they all crossed paths initially in Paradise, a good chunk of the book takes place after. At first I wasn’t sure it was going to work, but in the end it did, and it worked well.

I also really liked how, no matter how popular/unpopular the character was, each had moments of uncertainty about themeleves and who they are.  At one point one of the popular characters was jealous of one of the unpopular characters, making it clear that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

While my teen years are starting to become a distant memory, I do remember being envious of the pretty, popular girls, thinking that their lives were perfect. I think that Tangled could go a long way in helping teens realize that even those that seem to have it all, usually don’t.

Browse inside Tangled.

Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for providing a review copy of Tangled.

A (sort of) reading challenge

I own waaaay too many books. I know this. I knew it when I was packing them up to move and I knew it when I was unpacking them. I have probably close to 100 books that I haven’t read yet.

While I was unpacking, I was actually having mini panic attacks over the book situation. Talk about overwhelming. And now I find that when I finish a book, I have no idea what I should read next.

So when I came across a post on Bart’s Bookshelf about a self imposed book buying bane, I thought, Yeah, I so need this.

So here’s the deal: for the next three months I’m not buying one book. Not at a bookstore, yard sale, flea market or anywhere else I may come across books. April 1^st I will re-evaluate the book sitch and go from there.

It’ll be hard since I’m a bit of a stress shopper, and trust me, there is no end to the stress in my life right now. But it’s something I need to do. So here I go.

Q & A with Catherine McKenzie and a giveaway!

If you read my review of Catherine McKenzie debut novel Spin, then you know that I simply fell in love with this book. I was so happy to get the chance to ask Catherine a few questions about writing and the book. AND, I get to give a copy of Spin away. Yay!!!! Nothing is better than sharing an excellent read with another book lover.

Lavender Lines: Besides Katie, which character was the most fun to write?

Catherine: I’d have to say Amber Sheppard (the actress Katie follows into rehab). It was fun thinking up outrageous things for her to do, but also to come up with some of her less stereotypical characteristics. In a way, Amber’s journey is bigger than Katie’s, and just as important.

LL: What are some of your favorite books/authors discovered in 2009?

C: The best book I read in 2009 was Andre Agassi’s Open. I was already a big fan of his (I watched his first televised professional match and his last and hundreds in between), but the book was gripping in a way I hadn’t counted on. I know he wrote it with someone else, but the voice, the honesty, feels like his. It also had extra meaning for me because my sister, who lives in Vegas, went to see him and got him to autograph my copy as a birthday surprise. I also just finished Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall – historical fiction about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s lawyer who was one of the chief architect’s of the Reformation. I studied Tudor & Stuart history in university, and I can’t even begin to imagine how she organized and learned the history well enough to write that book. Impressive.

LL: There are a lot of references to music throughout Spin and a track list at the end of the book. Are Katie’s musical musings indicative of your personal music preference?

C: In a word: yes. Probably too much so. Not that I love every song mentioned in the book or appearing on the playlist, but I am a huge fan of Bob Dylan, Matt Nathanson, David Grey, Eric Hutchinson and many of the others named in the book.

LL: You take on a very tough and serious topic in Spin (addiction). Was it hard to find the balance between maintaining the humorous tone of the book and addressing the serious consequences of drug and alcohol addiction?

C: It is something I struggled with at some points in the book. I didn’t want the book to come across as an attack on AA or treatment programs, but I knew a lot of the humour in the book had to come from Katie’s denial both of her own problems and the efficacy of the treatment she’s in. I didn’t want to offend anyone, but I did want to explore how someone who doesn’t believe in the fundamentals behind the twelve steps can succeed in treatment.

Contest deets:

Okay, now I get to give away one copy of Spin. This is my very first giveaway, so I wanted to do something fun. Here goes!

To enter to win a copy of Spin, all you have to do is comment with a “chick lit” moment you’ve experienced.  Not sure what I mean? Well, a “chick lit” moment I had was eating at a restaurant where the only other people there were my ex fiance and his whole freaking family.  I kid you not.  Or there was the time I interviewed with a company and half way through the interview realized I had research a different company with the same name (yeah, I so didn’t get the job). We’ve all had “chick lit” moments (even you guys!) so go ahead, dish the dirt. You’ll feel better. And you may win a copy of Spin.

A few small things……

The contest will run until Feb 18th.

It’s only for us Canucks, so if you don’t live in the Great White North (aka Canada) you’re out of luck.

Keep comments clean, please and thank you. Any comments I deem dirty will be deleted. Sorry folks, that’s just how I roll.

Review: Spin by Catherine McKenzie

Katie Sandford has just gotten an interview at her favourite music magazine, The Line. It’s the chance of a lifetime. So what does she do? Goes out to celebrate — and shows up still drunk at the interview. No surprise, she doesn’t get the job, but the folks at The Line think she might be perfect for another assignment for their sister gossip rag. All Katie has to do is follow It Girl Amber Sheppard into rehab. If she can get the inside scoop (and complete the 30-day program without getting kicked out), they’ll reconsider her for the job at The Line.

Katie takes the job. But things get complicated when real friendships develop, a cute celebrity handler named Henry gets involved, and Katie begins to realize she may be in rehab for a reason. Katie has to make a decision — is publishing the article worth everything she has to lose?

From HarperCollins website

Damn, I loved this book! Damaged female lead, awkward situations, quirky friends and a hunky guy – honeslty? What’s not to love?

When I’m really into a book I devour it until I’m done. I also have a tendency to want to see what’s coming up so bad that I skim words, sometimes even whole paragraphs, so I can see what’s going to happen next. While reading Spin I quite often had to remind myself to slow down and smell the roses, or in this case read each wonderful word that McKenzie wrote. And the way she strung words together in this book was wonderful. And addictive.

I love damaged characters, and Spin had them a-plenty. And they weren’t so damaged that they were unbelievable – I could definintely identify with them. Maybe not with what they were going through, but the under lying reasons for their problems.

Quite often books that are catagorised as chic lit end up being a bit over the top and the characters come off as, well, cartoonie. McKenzie did a wicked job of keeping the balance between humourous and believable and given the fact that alcoholism and drug addiction played a major part in the plot, I’m sure it was a tough thing to do. But McKenzie pulls it off brilliantly.

Another thing that chic lit books sometimes go over board on is the romance (which usually makes me roll my eyes, gag, or both). For me, Spin had just the right touch. It wasn’t too steamy, too over done, or too romantic. It was realistic. And realistic romance is something that I appreciate in books.

I was actually sad when Spin was over, I like the characters so much. And I can’t wait to read more from McKenzie. I have a feeling she’s going to become one of my fave authors. In fact, I actually think she already is.

Browse inside Spin.

SeriesPalooza

A few weeks back over on Twitter, GalleySmith asked around if anyone would be interested in a readathon centered around book series. Immiediately a bunch of us went YES!, and SeriesPalooza was born.

This is a very low-key reading challenge that starts today and goes until Sunday. All you have to do is read books from series. It can be all the same series or books from different series you’ve been meaning to read.

I was planning on using SeriesPalooza as a way to unwind after the big move. But seeing as the big move isn’t until Sunday (ain’t life great sometimes?) I’ve had to cut down on my reading list.

I am hoping to get two whole books read! Yes, folks, that’s two books. Since I have been averaging about one book every two weeks, two books is a lot right now. And here are my choices:

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden.
This is the first in Marsden’s Tomorrow series, which was highly recommended by several people on Twitter.

Extras by Scott Westerield
This is the fourth and final in Westerfeld’s Uglies series. I read the first three earlier this year but never got around to reading the final book, probably because it takes place after the first three with a new slew of characters.

Getting soft in my old age?

I hate romance books. With a passion. If I pick up a book and find out that it is heavy on the romance, I’ll stop reading it. Give it away. Throw it away. I just don’t do romance.

Then I picked up a book by Alyson Noel called Evermoore. The back sounded interesting and while there was a bit of a romantic lean, I didn’t think it would be too much.

Yeah, this book was HEAVY on the romance. AND the ooshy kind. Deep stares, soul mate talk, instant I’ll-die-without-you attraction.

I should have hated it the moment the main characters Ever and Damen met eyes. But I didn’t. Nope. Instead I devoured the book in one night when I should have been painting. And then I did something even worse: I ran out to the bookstore the next day and bought the second in the series.

The second book, Blue Moon, was even mushier that the first. But yet again I found myself reading it in one sitting. And loving it. And ordering the next book a-la hardcover.

Shadowland has been sitting on my desk for about a week, mocking me. I’m dying to read it, but also a bit scared. Because if I also love it, then my personality has had a major shift. Or maybe I’m getting sentimental as I get older. Either way, it’s a bit freaky.

If you ever find me wandering the Harlequin section of the bookstore, eyes glazed over and hands clenched romantically over my heart, please call 911. Trust me, it’s an emergency.

Review: The Amanda Project: Book 1: invisible I by Stella Lennon and Melissa Kantor

HarperTeen, 2009

Amanda Valentino changed everything.

Callie Leary has exactly one thing, and one thing only, in common with Nia Rivera and Hal Bennett: They were each chosen by Amanda to be her guide. When Amanda arrived at Endeavor High, she told Callie she moves around a lot and always picks one person to help her navigate the choppy waters of a new school. Why did Amanda lie?

Following a course that they suspect Amanda deliberately plotted, Callie, Nia, and Hal piece together some cryptic clues. But they find more questions than answers and quickly realize that before they can figure out what happened to Amanda—the girl who changed their lives—they’ll need to solve the most important mystery of all: Who is Amanda Valentino?

From HarperCollins website

This was a book that didn’t necessarily wow be from the get-go, but once I got into it, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. After the first two chapters or so, I was riveted and drawn into the mystery of Amanda and her disappearance. There was also a side mystery surrounding an aspect of Callie’s life and I am dying to know more about that, along with who Amanda really was.

Once I did get into it, it was a quick read that left me wanting to immediately read the second book to find out what happens next.

The Amanda Project is an interactive series with it’s very own website where you can go and find out more clues about Amanda, where she disappeared to and who she really is.

Browse inside The Amanda Project.

Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for providing a review copy of The Amanda Project: invisible I.

Writers write, right?

I’m a writer. I’ve always been a writer. Ever since I was in grade 6 and my best friend and I sat down to write a “novel” about the boys we liked. (It turned out to be 7 hand written pages of crap, but hey, it was my crap.)

About a year and a half ago, I decided to quite the 9 to 5 life and try my hand at a career in freelance writing. As soon as I sat down and started looking for work, I was hooked. It was like I had finally slipped into the right skin. I was doing something that I loved.

But, you know, life is kinda funny. The past few months I have been doing minimal writing to keep afloat, which means that the projects closest to my heart (my blog and my books) have kinda taken the hardest hit.

As a result, when I run into people and they ask me what I’m up to (career wise) I find myself hesitating to say I’m a writer. Because writers write, right? And if I haven’t been writing, do I still get the honor of calling myself a writer?

I’ve thought about it a lot, and yes, I think I still do get to call myself a writer. Because whether I am actively writing or not, I’m a writer. It isn’t something I do, it’s something I am.

Review: Snap by Carol Snow

HarperTeen, 2009

Madison uses her camera and her love of photography to deal with the crappy summer she is having. Instead of being somewhere amazing, she was stuck in Sandyland , because of a job her father had to take.

While looking at a picture she had taken, Maddy notices a woman in the shot – a woman she knew wasn’t there when the picture was taken. When Maddy finds out that the woman is dead, she’s freaked out. When it happens again, she is more than freaked out- she’s scared.

Snap had a nice mix of teen romance, teen angst and the supernatural. It was an enjoyable book and the characters were both believable and likable. I did find Maddy a wee bit whiny and some of the situation in the book were hard to swallow, particularly the end, which got a little new-agey and preachy. While I didn’t love this book, I did like it and would recommend it, though not highly.

Browse inside Snap.

Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for providing a review copy of Snap.