Monthly Archives: July 2011
Review: Deenie by Judy Blume
Format: Mass Market Paperback Published on: Published October 1st 1991 (first published 1973) Published by: Laurel Leaf Pages: 144 ISBN: 0440932599 Goodreads Beautiful 13-year-old Deenie Fenner has dreams of becoming a model by the age of 17. Or at least, that’s her mother’s dream for her. Deenie keeps loosing out on jobs because of…
Review: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Format: Paperback Published on: October 30th 2007 (first published 2003) Published by: Pantheon Pages: 352 ISBN: 0375714839 Goodreads Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, Persepolis, chronicles her life growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Before going any further, I need to say two things in the interest of full disclosure: Persepolis is the first…
What Jezebel Doesn’t Get About Literacy
If you’ve ever subscribed to a blog even though most of the posts have bugged you for one reason or another, you probably understand how I feel about Jezebel. Jezebel is basically fluff. On rare occasions, it’s the good kind of fluff. Most of the time, however, it’s the bad kind of fluff. I…
Review: Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick
Format: Paperback Published on: June 1st 2009 Published by: Avon Books Pages: 424 ISBN: 0061756350 Goodreads I was originally going to talk about my experiences with an elementary school teacher who pretty much destroyed my love of reading as a kid, but since I already shared that story in my discussion of the #YAsaves…
Notes from the Bibliosphere 2011-July 24
Welcome to Notes from the Bibliosphere, a regular series of posts in which I list book related things I’ve discovered over the last week or so. In the news: After filing for bankruptcy and closing a third of its stores earlier this year, it was announced this week that the Borders bookstore chain will…
Review: Go Ask Alice by “Anonymous”
Format: Paperback Published on: December 27th 2005 (first published September 14th 1971) Published by: Simon Pulse Pages: 159 ISBN: 1416914633 Goodreads Go Ask Alice is a supposed real life diary of a girl who became addicted to drugs after taking LSD without her knowledge at a party. This nameless girl goes on to try…
Review: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Format: Hardcover Published on: March 27 2007 Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books Pages: 485 ISBN: 1416914285 Goodreads Fifteen-year-old Clarissa “Clary” Fray has spent her entire life in the mundane world – the world of ordinary humans. When she witnesses a murder at a night club she frequents, she is introduced to the world…
Why the gender divide in YA?
“There are no heroines following the shining paths of romantic adventure, as do the heroes of boys’ books…Of course girls have been reading so-called ‘boys’ books’ ever since there were such. But consider what it means to do so. Instead of closing the covers with shining eyes and the happy thought, ‘That might happen…
Review: Hellions: Pop Culture’s Rebel Women by Maria Raha
Format: Paperback Published on: October 1st 2008 Published by: Seal Press Pages: 280 ISBN: 1580052401 Goodreads Modern pop culture has a double standard when it comes to rebellion: male rebels are celebrated for their courage, their sexiness, and their loner lifestyle. Female rebels, on the other hand, are often reprimanded or seen as damaged…
Notes from the Bibliosphere 2011-July 17
Note: last week, I posted this. I originally called it “hooked on the book”. After it was published, however, I realized that I preferred “Notes from the bibliosphere” and changed the title. Please consider this the second in the series. I’m sorry for any confusion. Bittersweet event(s) of the week The final Harry Potter…
