People Like Us

People Like Us by Dominick Dunne is a book that I always wanted to read but never have.  And I still haven't.  People Like Us by Dana Mele is the book that I read!  I saw it on the shelf at the library and bought it after reading the reviews.  I am glad I did, but I know I only gave it four stars, just because I think it was a little too long for me.  But I can really recommend it.  I just wasn't SUPER wow'd by it.  But it is really good. 

Descending Shakespeare!

Isn't a word I use very much.  As I Descended is a modern retelling of Macbeth!  Dude so much Shakespeare in my life this year!  With two Ladys Macbeth instead of a Dude Macbeth!  Creepy and good!

Something else...

Belzhar was a good, good book.  It was one that I will think about for a very, very long time.  There's a lot of stuff in here.  Is this a magical realism book?  I am still not sure exactly what is and what isn't.  Because there is paranormal stuff in here...but it really isn't "out of this worldy" again.  I think that authors that can do that really show great talent in their writing.
Jam goes to a boarding school for teens who are in fragile mental states.  We don't know what caused Jam's fragile state exactly until the end and I didn't figure it out until the end and wow!
Sylvia Plath figures into this book and so I was glad that I had read Your Own, Sylvia.  Good, good stuff.

Blooming

It is spring.  Western Pennsylvania had a pretty cold and snowy winter, for Western Pennsylvania.  But today, it does really feel like spring.  Bloomability is not a real word, but it should be.  While the cover is quite ugly, the book is quite good.  What can you expect from Sharon Creech, though?  This lady makes magic every time she touches a pen to paper, or fingers to a keyboard, whatever way, it doesn't matter.  She has become one of my favorite writers.  What I think I particularly love about Ms. Creech is that she makes me love books that I usually wouldn't even think to read.  I remember first reading Love that Dog so many years ago.  I was NOT a poetry chick.  But wow.
The same thing goes for Bloomability.  It isn't set in the US!  I rarely enjoy books not set in the US, because I rarely read them, but still, when I do, I do not enjoy them at all.  Bloomability takes place in an international boarding school in Switzerland.  Here is some information about boarding schools in Switzerland!
Dinnie is a girl from the US who has a dad who is one of those adventurer-type dads.  The dad who is always looking for the a "great opportunity" and doesn't provide much stability to his family.  He is a good guy though, a free spirit and I love the way that Creech doesn't put him down.  He is always moving on for the next big thing and then his family follows after him.  Dinnie's older sister gets married when she is in high school, has a baby.  Her older brother is in and out of jail.  Dinnie's mom is a good lady, too.  But when the chance for a "great opportunity" opens up for Dinnie, she makes her take it, giving Dinnie and opportunity that she wouldn't have otherwise.  Dinnie's mom's sister is married to a man who has become the new headmaster at an American/International boarding school in Switzerland.  Dinnie can go to the school for free.
I am embarrassed that I didn't know that Italy and Switzerland were so close!  There is even a language called Swiss-Italian!
So this is a coming-of-age story, a respectful tale of difference families and lifestyles, a story of international relations on a personal scale, and just wow, a great little book.

A Tale of Two Emilys

And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard was an eARC from netgalley and it had a great cover and so I read it.  Again, I know as well as anyone not to judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I am glad I did.  And We Stay was a 5-Star read.  Heart-breaking and hopeful.  I didn't realize until I finished the book that the author's first book was Paper Covers Rock, which I really didn't like at all.  I didn't like it so much, that I doubt I would have given And We Stay a chance, had I remembered.  I'm glad I didn't remember, though, because And We Stay was beautifully written and realistic and I learned so much about Emily Dickinson.  The book is set in Amherst, Massachusettes, where Dickinson was born, lived a pretty much reclusive life and died.  The Museum itself actually figures prominently in the story. 
Emily Beam's ex-boyfriend, Paul commits suicide in their school library and Emily is dealing with all of the guilt and hell left behind.  In an attempt to heal, she transfers to a boarding school in Amherst.  The ghost of Emily Dickinson is all around and it helps Emily Beam to face the sorrows of her past.  Well drawn characters and a wonderful use of setting.  Great, heart-breaking story, with a lot of terrific, soul-ripping poetry as well.  Really enjoyed this book.

Original and Creepy

This month I read Fracture by Megan Miranda and I really enjoyed it so I was excited to see Hysteria on netgalley.com.  Hysteria is definitely one I will buy and recommend to folks at the library.  This is the story of Mallory who killed her boyfriend, Brian, in self-defense.  After that, naturally, she can't go back to school or even live in her home town because Brian's mother and brother, Dylan are angry.  Brian's mother beings to stalk Megan and throw red paint on the family's home.   

Mallory's parents send her to a New Hampshire boarding school, the same school her father attended. At boarding school she feels that she is still being stalked, perhaps by Brian's mother, perhaps by something even worse.  

One of the particularly rotten students Mallory's new school ends up stabbed to death, in Mallory's room.  Of course, suspicion falls on Mallory.  

This book kept me guessing up until the end.  There is a bit of romance, as Mallory is reunited with a young man she met a few years before, the son of her father's best friend.  The character of Mallory can be really unlikeable, but that's okay.  She is very human and real.  Her best friend is also very cool.  

Very good story, and I read it quickly.  Looking forward to more from Miranda.  

Also it is set in New Hampshire!