Best of 2009 (kind of)

Being a relatively new blogger, I'm still learning the ropes here. Most of the time, I think I know what I'm doing - review some books, throw in some squeeing about books I'm looking forward to, tell everyone what goodies showed up on my doormat. Read, read, read, and repeat. And I love it.

Over the last week, things have been different. Other bloggers have been posting their 'best of 2009' lists. At first I figured they were fun, and I'd read them but wouldn't put together one of my own - you know, since I've only been blogging for five months. I mean, a 'best of the last five months of 2009' list just sounds a little... random, doesn't it? But then, everyone else is doing it...

So, in the spirit of randomness and the fact that I just can't let the year end without giving a shout out to the books I've read and loved, here's my top (as luck would have it) nine. Some of them are pre-2009 releases, but all of them were read by me for the first time this year.

Ash - Malinda Lo

I'm a little bit infatuated with this retelling of the Cinderella story. It's beautifully written, with a love story I just couldn't resist. Technically it's not out in the UK until part-way through 2010, but I was lucky enough to receive an import copy as a present and I read it twice through straight away, because I didn't want it to end.

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Like the first Hunger Games book, the second instalment in the much-buzzed dystopian series is an absorbing, edge-of-your-seat, jaw-dropping rollercoaster ride of a book. Plus: best heroine ever! When I grow up, I'd like to be Katniss. (And if I was her, I'd be Team Gale. Just sayin'.)

Genesis - Bernard Beckett

Another dystopia, and one of smartest, most thought-provoking books I've read since... ever. Generally I don't like having my thoughts provoked, but Beckett sets those grey cells going without you even realising he's doing it. Oh, and the ending is a doozie. This book is genius.

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

This is the first book I ever reviewed, and it's practically perfect. A wonderful, strong heroine; world-building to die for; a love story you can't help but warm to.

Love, Aubrey - Suzanne LaFleur

The incredibly moving story of an eleven year old girl recovering from grief and abandonment, and the only book that made me cry in public this year. This is an achievement in itself, since I wear lots of mascara and tears are generally not an option. And though I hate the word 'uplifting', it's that too. Unforgettable.

Prophecy of the Sisters - Michelle Zink

Eerie gothic fantasy about twin sisters caught in a dark and dangerous prophecy. One of them is the embodiment of evil, but which one? This book messed with my mind. And I enjoyed every second of it.

Split By A Kiss - Luisa Plaja

YA chicklit at its very finest, this one's about a Brit girl who moves to America, finds herself torn between the two sides of her personality (nerdy Jo and cool Josie) and literally splits in two. It's culture-clash fun all the way but at the same time, Jo definitely gets my award for 'easiest to relate to protagonist'. Luisa's books are also single handedly responsible for finally getting me to read outside my sci-fi-and-fantasy comfort zone, which is a good thing.

The Compound - S.A. Bodeen

The story of a family living underground in a nuclear bunker was always going to appeal to me, but what I got far exceeded my expectations. This one's all about the incredible tension, and the question of what exactly you'd do to survive. Mind-blowing.

Wake - Lisa McMann

The story of a girl who gets sucked into other people's dreams - and nightmares. This one is a quick read, but it packs a punch. Also, the romance is one of the most credible and compelling of recent YA fiction. Loved it.

In other words, it's been an amazing five months. Here's to 2009!

Waiting on Wednesday (19): Numbers 2 The Chaos - Rachel Ward

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Numbers 2: The Chaos by Rachel Ward

Summary from Amazon: Adam sees 'numbers' - when he looks in peoples' eyes he can see their death-dates, just like his mum Jem used to. Adam has trouble dealing with his awful gift, and when he realises that everyone around him has the same series of numbers, he becomes deeply afraid of what might happen in 2025. Desperate to find out what could be about to go wrong, Adam spends hours researching possibilities - war, nuclear accidents, killer viruses. He knows something big is coming, but what? And is there anything he can possibly do about it?

I read the first Numbers book earlier this year and was drawn in by its gritty, unflinching take on what it might really be like to have a supernatural power you can't switch off. Judging from this summary, Numbers 2 is set to seriously raise the stakes: the end of the world is nigh, and our protagonist is the only one who knows about it. It may just be the first pre-apocalyptic YA novel I've read.

This one's due out June 2010 in the UK, by which time our US friends will have had plenty of time to catch themselves up on the first book. I don't have supernatural powers, but I'm foreseeing must read.

Time Travel Tuesday: The Babysitters Club (1) - Ann M. Martin

Being twelve was awesome, wasn't it? There you were, on the brink of teenagedom, feeling as though excitement lay just around the corner. You wanted to be independent. To run your own social life. To maybe make some cash of your own. If you were Kristy Thomas, maybe you even had a great idea. Since you were constantly getting lumbered with babysitting your kid brother, why not start a babysitters club with your three best friends? And get paid for your trouble.

Here's the thing: I was too old for The Babysitters Club the first time around. I say this because I was twelve (by the time the series hit the UK, at least) and picked up the first book, Kristy's Great Idea, from my kid sister's bookshelves one day out of sheer desperation for something to read. In fact, she'd probably outgrown it by then, but I loved it. It was twee, it had some bad localisation issues, but it also had a charm all its own. Heck, it even made me want to start a babysitters club. For a few hours, anyway. You know, if it weren't for the fact that at that time my kid sister and I couldn't be left alone together without a serious risk of bloodshed on either side.

Besides, The Babysitters Club wasn't really about babysitting. It was about friendship. It was about four girls with very distinct personalities who were BFFs regardless of their differences. My personal favourite was Claudia Kishi, because she was artistic, had a phone in her room, and had the guts to dress exactly how she wanted. She was the kind of girl I would've wanted to be at fifteen, let alone twelve. Except without the constant babysitting, of course. Major drag.

Reading Kristy's Great Idea as an adult, with the benefit of my wisdom and experience (who's that laughing at the back?) it does strike me that putting an advert in the paper giving strangers contact details for four twelve-year-old girls may not be such a great idea. I mean, random people ring this hotline, and all they have to say is that they need a babysitter, and then one of the girls will go alone to their house - apparently without telling their parents where exactly they are going? Sounds potentially more like Kristy's Dumb Mistake to me. Besides, we're expected to believe that Mary Anne's father won't even let her spend three dollars on a pizza without running it by him, so why he'd be happy for his only daughter to put herself at risk of stranger danger, I don't know. Bad idea, Kristy. Bad, bad idea. Had she not read anything by R.L. Stine?

This time around though, I actually warmed to Kristy more than any other character. Yes, she's bossy and she shoots her mouth off, but she's going through some serious s***. She misses her dad, who recently ran off to California with some floozy (we assume), and is pretty pissed about her mother's new boyfriend Watson constantly (in her words) 'horning in'. Understandable, when she puts it like that. As far as the other characters go, all I've got from book one is that Claudia possibly doesn't have a personality beyond her quirky clothes and interest in boys, Mary Anne is shy, and Stacey is cool because she comes from New York and has a perm. Ahem. Well, it was the eighties.

Verdict: Dated, unashamedly cheesy, and occasionally a little lame, I still love these. That's why there'll always be a place on my bookshelves for BSC. Right at the back, where visitors can't see them.

Another reading challenge: GLBT Challenge 2010

Yes, I know I have challenge commitment issues but I think this one is pretty important as well as potentially a lot of fun: the GLBT Challenge 2010.

The challenge itself is hosted by GLBT Reading, and there are three levels of participation. Like a chicken, I have opted for the easiest level, which is four GLBT themed books during the entire year. I've decided to start with that level because I really don't want to risk failing this one, but hopefully I can get past that to one of the higher levels.

Now I just have to decide what to read. Ideally, I'd like to keep my choices YA, and preferably sci-fi or fantasy. Tall order, right? So if anyone has any recommendations, please do comment with them below.

In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Christmas Presents:
Rampant - Diana Peterfreund

From book cover: Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns...

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

I've been looking forward to this one ever since I first heard about it. I'd always thought of myself as a Team Zombie kinda person, but Rampant might just be the book to change that. I mean, killer unicorns? I'm so there.

Perfect: A Pretty Little Liars Novel - Sara Shepard

Summary from Goodreads: In a town where gossip thrives like the ivy that clings to its mansions, where mysteries lie behind manicured hedges and skeletons hide in every walk-in closet, four perfect-looking girls aren't nearly as perfect as they seem.

Three years ago, Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and their best friend Alison were the girls at Rosewood Day School. They clicked through the halls in their Miu Miu flats, tanned in their matching Pucci bikinis, and laughed behind their freshly manicured fingernails. They were the girls everyone loved but secretly hated—especially Alison.

So when Alison mysteriously vanished one night, Spencer, Aria, Emily, and Hanna's grief was tinged with . . . relief. And when Alison's body was later discovered in her own backyard, the girls were forced to unearth some ugly memories of their old friend, too. Could there be more to Alison's death than anyone realizes?

Now someone named A, someone who seems to know everything, is pointing the finger at one of them for Ali's murder. As their secrets get darker and their scandals turn deadly, A is poised to ruin their perfect little lives forever.

I've read the first two books in the Pretty Little Liars series, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they are incredibly addictive. I'm planning a reread of the last two before I get stuck into this one, though. And yay! for the fact I received the US cover. It bothers me when my series books don't match.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove - Lauren Kate

Summary from Goodreads: A steamy Southern beauty makes one fatal mistake.

Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead.

From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove.

Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.

I really liked Fallen (review here), so the premise of The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove had me intrigued - mostly because it sounded so different to Lauren Kate's fallen angel series. Plus, the promise of a modern-day, YA, American take on 'the Scottish play' is basically irresistible to me.

Bought:

My Loves Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey

From book cover: Solange has always known she is a vampire. And as the only female vampire ever born, not initiated, she is surrounded by danger on all sides - from other vampire tribes who want to take her blood into their lineage, and from the bounty hunters who are set on destroying her and her family.

When she is kidnapped, it's up to her elder brother, Nicholas, and best friend, Lucy, to save her. But can Lucy save herself from Nicholas, who tempts her with every look - what will be her own fate if she surrenders her heart to a vampire?

So, I went to the bookstore to buy a present for my sister, and picked up this one for myself as well. They say 'tis better to give than to receive - but what I say is, it's not like the two are mutually exclusive.

Non-Christmas gift:

Ondine - Ebony McKenna

Ondine is starting to hear voices... Or is that her pet ferret talking? It is indeed - Shambles, a cheeky ferret with a wicked sense of humour and a broad Scottish accent.

If all that wasn't strange enough, Ondine soon discovers that Shambles is a man under a witch's spell. What on earth would he look like as a man? Her heart starts to flutter - love is blind after all...

Recently, my blogger friend Becky did an awesome review of this one over at her blog The Bookette. It sounds enchanting and quirky, and Becky was sweet enough to send me a spare copy she had. I've had a quick peek inside, and it has footnotes. Which are of the hilarious variety.

In other news this week, Lauren Kate's Fallen is getting some very special publicity here in the UK. Check out Random House's video footage of their Fallen angel roaming the streets of London below - I'm thinking he must seriously have some supernatural genes, because as anyone who actually lives in the UK will know, it's not exactly been get-your-kit-off weather.



Also, I hit 200 followers. This makes me very happy! I am of course planning a celebratory contest... just as soon as I work out how to use that form thing that everybody's contests run on nowadays. Seriously, thank you to each and every person who stops by here to read my ramblings about books.

Not In My Mailbox (Or, 'I bought some books and they weren't for me')

They say 'tis better to give than to receive. And they're not kidding.

In that spirit, I thought I'd share with you all the books I have bought for others this Christmas. Kind of like a reverse In My Mailbox, if you will.

For my eleven-year-old niece:

Switched (My Sister The Vampire, #1) - Sienna Mercer

Summary from Goodreads: When Olivia Abbott moves to town, she's excited to join the cheerleading team and make new friends. Then she meets Ivy Vega. At first, Ivy, pale and dressed all in black, looks like Olivia's opposite. Then the girls look beyond the glittery pink blush and thick black eyeliner to discover they're identical—identical twins!

Olivia and Ivy are brimming with plans to switch places and pull every twin trick in the book. But Olivia soon discovers that she and Ivy aren't exactly the same. Ivy's a vampire. And she's not the only one in town.

Seriously, how cute does this book sound? The fact is, my niece would have us believe she is not a big reader. And yet somehow, all the Jacqueline Wilson titles have mysteriously disappeared from the bookcase in my old bedroom. This is heartening to me. She reads!

Alas, she does not read sci-fi or fantasy. She also professes to not like scary books. Gasp! We can't have that. (Yes, I know I could leave her alone to form her own literary tastes, but I don't wanna.) So, I have bought her a middle-grade type book that basically looks like pretty awesome tween chicklit laced with... vampires. Yay for vampires!

For my sister:

My Love Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey

Summary from Goodreads: The Blakes are rather different to your usual neighbours. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only born female vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.

Like I said, yay for vampires. I regularly check the shelves of my local bookstore for titles that have magically appeared ahead of the publication date. This happens a lot, but still, it always feels like a little miracle in itself. So you can imagine my joy to spot my recent WoW pick, My Love Lies Bleeding - a.k.a. Hearts at Stake for those of us of the American persuasion - a whole two weeks earlier than I was expecting.

My sister Becky reads a lot of YA, mostly because she gets my hand-me-downs. (Sad but true: as a youngest child, she got used to this situation early in life.) She's become someone whose opinion I would trust on books. You know, if I hadn't already read them. I'm taking a risk in gifting her a book I haven't read myself yet, but it's a calculated risk because this one sounds so good.

Okay, I confess: I bought myself a copy of this one too. I couldn't resist.

For my mum:

The Behaviour of Moths - Poppy Adams

Summary from Goodreads: From her lookout in the crumbling mansion that was her childhood home, Ginny watches and waits for her younger sister to arrive. Vivien has not set foot in the house since she left nearly fifty years ago; the reclusive Ginny has rarely ventured out, retreating into the precise routines that define her days, carrying on her father’s solitary work studying moths. As the sisters revisit their shared past, they realize that their recollections differ in essential and unsettling ways. Before long, the deeply buried resentments that have shaped both their lives rise to the surface, and Vivien’s presence threatens to disrupt Ginny’s carefully ordered world. Told in Ginny’s unforgettable voice, this subtle and chilling debut novel tells an extraordinary story of how families are capable of undoing themselves—especially in the name of love.

For my mum, I decided to go with a non-YA choice. Don't get me wrong, this is a woman who knows her Maggie Stiefvater from her Stephenie Meyer, but again this is largely because she reads my books as well as her own. So... proper grown up books. Hmmm. I find these much harder to choose, because I know less about the new releases and my mum has this inexplicable knack of always having read every book you choose for her. As my sister recalled the other day: 'Last Christmas, I got Mum a book she really loved. When she read it. Which was, unfortunately, two weeks before I bought it.'

Moral of this story? A book is a great gift for my mum. As long as it is accompanied by a receipt.

For my other half:

Zen and the Art of Running - Larry Shapiro

Summary by me: This book is about running. That is all.

I'm married to a runner. Yes, that's right, somebody who runs by choice. And - get this! - would rather read a book about running than The Hunger Games. In this way, we are a mystery to each other. And that is quite probably a good thing.

As I write this, it's five minutes past midnight on Christmas day here in the UK. I saw over on Rhiannon's blog that she was sharing her Christmas menu, and it sounded delicious. Mine is very much more British, and I expect to gain weight. In fact, I will be disappointed if I don't.

Starter: Er, starter? By this point I'll have eaten the killer breakfast known as the 'full English' (bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, toast) and my own body weight in Quality Street chocolates. There will be no starter. Unless you count Champagne. Which maybe I do.

Main course: Turkey and stuffing, bread sauce, honey roast parsnips, brussels sprouts, carrots, the best roast potatoes in the Northern Hemisphere, gravy, and more Champagne.

Pudding: Seriously, I despise the traditional Christmas pudding. It's like 10 percent tar, 90 percent something-you'd-skim-off-a-pond. Ewww. So we eat a chocolate pudding in the shape of a Christmas pudding. Genius, huh? Except we never do. Because by then we are full from breakfast and the main course.

So... what did you all not get in your mailbox this Friday? And more importantly, what did you eat?

Merry Christmas folks!

In My Mailbox (20)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Bought:

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances - John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Summary from Goodreads: Sparkling white snowdrifts, beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you see only in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House through four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks.

Thanks to three of today's bestselling teen authors John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle the magic of the holidays shines on these hilarious and charming interconnected tales of love, romance, and breathtaking kisses.

What can I say? It's Christmas time. I'd been eyeing this for a while, but I decided to leave it until the festive season. Plus, I know for a fact that John Green and Maureen Johnson both rock, and have it on good authority that Lauren Myracle does too... so I need to read this one.

For review:

The Thirteen Curses - Michelle Harrison

From book cover: When fairies stole her brother, Red vowed to get him back. Trapped in the fairy realm, Red must beg an audience with the fairy court. There, she strikes a bargain. Her brother will be returned - but only if she can find the charms of Tanya's bracelet, scattered in the human world.

Returning to Elvesden Manor, Red is assisted by Tanya and Fabian, and a desperate hunt begins. Soon they make a shocking discovery. The charms are now cursed with the twisted qualities of the thirteen treasures they represent... and the longer they are missing, the worse the consequences will be. Can Red, Tanya and Fabian find all the charms? And even if they do, will the fairies keep their promise?

Oooh... exciting! I'm just about to start reading The Thirteen Treasures, the first of this series, and suprise! The upcoming sequel lands on my doormat thanks to Simon and Schuster UK. I'm excited to read both of them, so I'm super glad I have the holidays coming up. It's awful when real life gets in the way of a good read, isn't it?

A Million Shades of Grey - Cynthia Kadohata

From book cover: At twelve years old, Tin is the youngest elephant handler in his village. He loves nothing more than spending his days looking after his elephant, Lady, and dreaming of being an elephant trainer when he grows up.

But as Tin dreams of his future, the world around him is being changed dramatically by the events of the Vietnam War, and when Viet Cong attack his village, Tin's life is turned upside down. Suddenly held hostage by soldiers who don't care if he lives or dies, Tin has to harness all his courage to escape from his captors and save not only his own life, but his precious elephant's too.

See, this is why I love blogging. Until I started I Was A Teenage Book Geek, I really don't think I'd have ever picked up a book about a twelve-year-old elephant handler. I'm reading outside of my comfort zone a lot these days and finding myself falling in love with books I would have missed out on before. This one is another surprise from Simon and Schuster UK, and I have a really good feeling about it.

Wicked: Legacy and Spellbound - Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

From book cover: Holly Cathers is not the same person she was almost a year and a half ago. After discovering her connection to an ancient legacy of witches, Holly has accepted her destiny as a descendant of the House of Cahors and is determined to end an intergenerational feud that has plagued her family for centuries.

But Holly will have to overcome unworldly obstacles as she battles to protect her loved ones - including Jer, a member of the rival House of Deveraux and her one true love. A war of magical proportions is being waged, and Holly is right in the middle of it. Lives will be lost - and sacrifices will have to be made...

Surprise book number three from S&S UK this week, so major thanks to them. It's almost like they know I have ten! whole! days! off work coming up. Days I wish to fill with Cadbury's Roses, Christmas movies and books. This volume is books three and four in the Wicked series. I haven't read books one and two, but I am so going to.

Borrowed:

Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Summary from Goodreads: There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Does this one need any explanation? It's definitely one of the buzziest titles around at the moment. The Bookette, Steph Su and The Crooked Shelf all rated it highly, and I always trust the power of three. And since it's not out in the UK until February, the very generous Carla of The Crooked Shelf has loaned me her ARC.

I'm excited about all of my books this week. What did everyone else get?

2010 Debut Author Challenge

Since I adore reading first novels, I've decided to join the 2010 Debut Author Challenge which is being hosted by The Story Siren. I'm practically drooling over a bunch of 2010 debut books, so this is less of a challenge for me and more something I would have done anyway... but now I will get to feel a sense of achievement about doing it. And I will be able to justify copious book purchases (to myself) by saying stuff like, 'I have a challenge to rise to' or 'I made a commitment, and I'm going to see it through'. Win-win situation or what?

Here's what The Story Siren has to say about this one:

What is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge?

• The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.
• Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.
• The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!

* I would like to limit the novels to those released in 2010.

This is my list so far:

1. Restoring Harmony - Joëlle Anthony
2. Birthmarked - Caragh M. O'Brien
3. Everlasting - Angie Frazier
4. Claire de Lune - Christine Johnson
5. Hex Hall - Rachel Hawkins
6. The Line - Teri Hall
7. 13 to Life: A Werewolf's Tale - Shannon Delany
8. A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend - Emily Horner
9. The Iron King - Julie Kagawa
10. Nevermore - Kelly Creagh
11. The Naughty List - Suzanne Young
12. Whisper - Phoebe Kitanidis

I've picked twelve because that's one a month, which doesn't seem like a challenge at all... but since I'm in the UK it might take me a little longer than US bloggers to get hold of some of these. I'll probably double this list, maybe take out a few if the release dates change... but what I'm really hoping is to be able to read some debut British authors as part of this challenge. So I'll be on the lookout for those.

Sounds fun, right? If you're interested and by some miracle haven't signed up already, head on over to The Story Siren right here for more details.

Roll on 2010!

Review: Love, Aubrey - Suzanne LaFleur

Aubrey is on her own.

Surviving on cheese and crackers and television, she doesn't go into the empty bedrooms of those she's lost. When the food runs out, she spends the last of her birthday money on tins of spaghetti. She buys herself a pet fish, to keep her company.

She puts up a sign in the window saying 'On Vacation' and stops answering the phone. She figures that way, nobody will find out that her mother has left her.

Some people have a particular weakness for books that tug at their heartstrings: I don't. I don't like crying and I don't enjoy feeling emotionally drained. Last year, I actually stopped reading a very well-written YA title because I had realised that the ending was going to be too sad for me to bear. And yet somehow I found I could cope with Love, Aubrey, possibly the most heartbreaking novel I've ever read. It's the story of an eleven-year-old girl who, having survived the car accident that killed her father and her little sister, is abandoned by her mother. The kind of story that usually has me bailing out at the first sign of (my own) tears.

Not this time. Love, Aubrey is different. It's not melodramatic. It's not clichéd. It's matter-of-fact and intimate. Suzanne LaFleur communicates what's happened to Aubrey - this terrible, almost unimaginable loss and abandonment - by evoking childhood memories we all have. The brief moment of panic that time when your parent was late to pick you up from school, the day your sibling was taken to hospital with some injury that later turned out to be minor - that's Aubrey's life, every minute of every day. We've all had a tiny glimpse of it, and that's why it hurts.

At eleven, Aubrey is a very young protagonist compared to those in most of the books I read. I was slightly apprehensive about this, but my concerns evaporated in the first few pages. I connected with her instantly, and somehow she was both believable as an eleven year old and complex enough to engage me throughout the story. We get to know her through the details of her day to day existence, her relationship with the grandmother determined to save her, the flashes of memory too painful to dwell on, and the letters she writes to those she misses - all of which combine to show us what she's really feeling, and often not telling us. I would go so far as to say that Aubrey is a character I'll never forget.

Intense as this story is, it's also uplifting. Love, Aubrey isn't just about a bereaved and abandoned eleven-year-old. It's about her journey back. It's about kindness and love and hope. It's pragmatic and real, and I can't recommend it enough. Yes, you'll cry a little, but don't let that put you off. Brave your tears.

Waiting On Wednesday (18): My Love Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey

The Blakes are rather different to your usual neighbours. They are vampires and some of the members of the family date back to the twelfth century. One of the children, Solange, is the only female born vampire known and, as such, she poses a direct threat to the vampire queen. Her best friend Lucy is human, and when Solange is kidnapped Lucy and Solange's brother, Nicholas, set out to save her. Lucy soon discovers that she would like to be more than just friends with Nicholas. But how does one go about dating a vampire? Meanwhile, Solange finds an unlikely ally in Kieran, a vampire slayer on the hunt for his father's killer.

Recently I spotted a post about this one over at Wondrous Reads, and I had a revelation: I haven't read much vampire fiction lately.

No, really. Hard to believe, I know. I can hardly believe it myself. After gorging myself on every YA vampire novel I could find until last year, I've barely picked up one of the suckers in 2009. Which means my thirst is raging again over My Love Lies Bleeding. The best part? It sounds so completely different from any other vampire novel I've read.

ETA for this one is January 4th 2010 in the UK. Readers in the US will be able to pick this up as Hearts At Stake from December 22nd 2009, but I'm digging the UK title so I'm prepared to wait... impatiently.

Review: Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld

It's the eve of World War I. Except it's not exactly.

Prince Aleksandar Ferdinand is fleeing his homeland following the assassination of his parents. Fleeing, that is, in a war machine that walks on two legs... and even runs, when it needs to. That's Clanker technology for you.

In England, Deryn Sharp has disguised herself as a boy to enter the British Air Service. The Darwinist British Air Service, that is. Before long, she's flying over Europe on the Leviathan - a fabricated airship with the body of a whale.

A boy and a girl. A Clanker and a Darwinist. Both with secrets, and about to collide in a way that might just change history...

Steampunk. It's a world of possibility; a genre that for many of us still holds the irrestible mystique of the unknown. It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit fantasy, and a whole lot of new. In the hands of Scott Westerfeld, it's also mindblowing.

In Leviathan, we get two alternate worlds for the price of one. First up, there's the world of the Clankers, masters of machinery more advanced than anything found in our World War I. Second, there's the world of the Darwinists, masters of DNA whose technology is based in creating specialist animal species to suit their needs. And as a world-builder, Westerfeld reaches new heights in Leviathan, notably aided by Keith Thompson's beautiful illustrations. All those tantalising little details of the strange and unknown from his imagination are seamlessly interwoven with elements of our own history that seem almost as if they always belonged there. Readers will soon become swept up in the story and lose track of the boundary between fact and fiction, but it won't matter in the slightest. This version's better.

There's always something fascinating about a character concealing their true gender, and Westerfeld's Deryn Sharp is no exception. Under the assumed identity Dylan, our heroine (hero?) is accepted into the British air service on her merits - and enjoys a taste of what it's like to be a boy in her world. Which mostly seems to mean fighting, swearing and getting to spend time risking her life on fantastic Darwinist creations like the Leviathan of the title. All of which she'd no doubt describe as 'barking' good fun, and I'd have to agree with her there. She's beguiling and plucky, and she takes me back to those childhood days before girls and boys started to seem like two entirely different species. I think Scott Westerfeld may have cracked that elusive quality that makes a book appeal to male and female readers alike, and that's no mean feat.

That said, Leviathan definitely reads 'younger' than the other Scott Westerfeld books on my shelf. In the UK it's marketed for ages ten and up, and I think that's about right. The focus is strongly on the world-building and adventure, and although the protagonists are teenagers I didn't feel that character development was given as much attention as I'd usually expect in a YA novel. Sure, there was a whisper of potential romance, and I'll be interested to see how that develops throughout the series - but actually I found it refreshing to just be swept up in the breathtaking action and awe-inspiring world of Leviathan.

Leviathan isn't the first steampunk novel I've read, but it is the first steampunk novel I've truly connected with. It's accessible and immersive, and as an alternate history its relationship to our own is wholly fascinating. Steampunk fans won't want to miss it, and those new to the genre will find it the perfect introduction. I think this one might just become a classic.

Out: now, in the UK and US

Sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with a copy for review.

In My Mailbox (19)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It's just about my favourite meme in the world, because it's the one time I get to go 'oooh look what I got!!!' without pretending it was half price in a sale.

Bought:

Love, Aubrey - Suzanne LaFleur

From book cover: Something heartbreaking has happened. Eleven-year-old Aubrey is on her own.

'It was fun at first, playing house. nothing to think about but TV and chesse. A perfect world.'

She's determined to hide away and take care of herself, because facing the truth is too much too bear.

'I couldn't let anyone know that I was alone. I was staying right here.'

But with the love of her grandmother and the letters she writes, can Aubrey begin to see that even though she's lost everything - all is not lost?

I've been wanting to read this one for a while, and today I spotted it on a trip to my new local bookstore. Beautiful cover, beautiful premise. I don't tend to enjoy books with such young protagonists as a rule, but something tells me this one will be the exception.

So Much To Tell You - John Marsden

Summary from book cover: Scarred, literally, by her past, she has withdrawn into silence. She speaks to no one.

Then, set the task of writing a diary by her English teacher, she finds a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings and of exploring the traumatic events that have caused her distress. There is so much she has to say...

I loved Tomorrow, When The War Began, so I was pretty stoked to spot John Marsden's first book calling to me from a bookstore shelf. Another possibly emotional choice. Hmm. Maybe I'm going through a phase. In any case, once I spotted this I couldn't leave the store without it.

The Thirteen Treasures - Michelle Harrison

Summary from Goodreads: While visiting her grandmother's house, an old photograph leads Tanya to an unsolved mystery. Fifty years ago a girl vanished in the woods nearby - a girl Tanya's grandmother will not speak of.

Fabian, the caretaker's son, is tormented by the girl's disappearance. His grandfather was the last person to see her alive, and has lived under suspicion ever since. Together, Tanya and Fabian decide to find the truth.

But Tanya has her own secret: the ability to see fairies. Can it help them to unravel the mystery? Soon they are facing terrible danger. Could the manor's sinister history be about to repeat itself?

Okay, first: UK author. Woot. I've been wanting to read this one since I saw Michelle Harrison interviewed at one of my favourite Brit blogs, So Many Books, So Little Time. The sequel is out soon, so I figured I'd better get my skates on. Plus, I haven't read a faerie novel for like, weeks. Which I'm pretty sure is like, months in faerie years. Maybe.

Soooo... what did everyone else get this week?

Waiting On Wednesday (17) Swapped By A Kiss - Luisa Plaja

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Swapped By A Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Rachel hates her life and everyone in it - she even has suspicions that her on/off boyfriend David might not be entirely trustworthy. However, when David invites her to a music festival in England featuring their friend's band, she jumps at the chance for an overseas adventure.

Hoping to surprise David, Rachel arrives at the festival early, where she runs into a nasty surprise of her own - she sees David kissing their friend Jo. Distraught, Rachel runs off, wishing she could leave her life behind...the next thing she knows, she's back with David. But not as herself...She's now in Jo's body! Can she keep the swap a secret from David until she can work out exactly what's going on and get her revenge?

Over the course of a very weird weekend, Rachel puts herself in someone else's shoes and finds that her own maybe weren't as uncomfortable as she'd always thought. But can she ever be herself again?

I've always been a major fan of body swap stories. Freaky Friday, Vice Versa, It's A Boy Girl Thing, that classic episode of Buffy where Amy's mother wants to relive her high school glory days... I just can't get enough of 'em.

Usually I get my fix from TV shows or movies, which is why I'm soooo excited about Swapped By A Kiss. It's a body swap story! And it's a book! And it's about Jo and Rachel and David from Split By A Kiss! All of which adds up to Just Can't Waitness™.

Current ETA is April 2010 for UKers, and I already have so many questions! Are Jo and David really doing the dirty on Rachel? How will Rachel fare in Jo's body? Will they ever swap back?Can I develop enough patience to survive the wait?

Time Travel Tuesday: Dead End - R.L. Stine

Stop me if you've heard this one before...

Driving home from a party, a group of teenagers are involved in an accident. It's late, it's pitch dark, and they can't be sure but they think they've hurt somebody. So, they 'fess up, right? Take their punishments like good boys and girls? Er, wrong.

They're scared. They don't want to get into major trouble. They're loyal to the friend who was driving. So they scram. Which perhaps isn't the smartest thing they could do. Especially since someone else knows what they did...

I know what you're thinking. Isn't this the premise of that movie, I Know What You Did Last Summer? Uh... yes. Yes it is. Except, and this is the awesome part: Dead End is like a book version.

Okay, I know there was a book version of that I Know What You Did Last Summer too. But Dead End is like, another book version. Hmmm. I guess the question we have to ask ourselves is, does the world really need another version of I Know What You Did Last Summer? Actually, yes. And here's why.

There are certain stories that lend themselves just perfectly to teen horror. The babysitter stalked by an anonymous caller on the phone. The group of friends who go off to spend a 'fun' weekend at some uncle's cabin in the woods and find themselves being slaughtered one by one. And yes, the hit-and-run secret that won't stay buried. Why are they so darn good? Because for teenage readers they play on the scariest reality of all: the fact that with freedom comes responsibility. And 'responsibility' is basically just a fancy way of saying that when the crap hits the fan, you're going to have to deal with it or suffer the consequences.

So, responsibility. It's not the most fun concept ever. But dress it up with a situation where a bunch of teens get a little taste of freedom - making some cash by babysitting at a scary ol' house, taking a weekend trip by themselves, being in charge of an actual real-life motor vehicle! - and things go scarily wrong, and it becomes the one monster you better hope ain't hiding under your bed. Now that's what real fear is. And that why, although we've probably heard this one before, it's always good to hear again.

As Fear Street books go, Dead End isn't the most original story but it is an entertaining little read that'll provide a convenient escape from real life for, oh, forty-five minutes to an hour. It's seriously that short. It's also a nostalgic reminder of what teen horror was like in the days before the Scream franchise helped us all wise up to the genre's tricks. Yep, you've guessed it: not very scary. But fun all the same.

Verdict: There are better Fear Street books, that's for sure. There are even better stories about a bunch of teenagers who cover up a hit and run and suffer the consequences. But put the two together, and somehow it just works. This one's quite the little page-turner.

Review: Extreme Kissing - Luisa Plaja

Bethany and Carlota are best friends. Studious, cautious Bets worries that her boyfriend Declan might be about to break up with her. Reckless serial snogger Lots lives under threat of being sent away to boarding school. They're two girls with plenty of reasons to stress out - not least the impending doom of the GCSE final exams.

They're also two girls with secrets.

Luckily Lots has an idea to take Bethany's mind off her boyfriend blues: a day of Extreme Travel. She'll open her magazine to a random page, and let whatever she finds there guide them.

Then maybe, just maybe, by the end of the day she'll find the perfect moment to tell Bets what she knows about Declan...

Extreme Kissing has all the ingredients of the ultimate YA chicklit novel. A heroine (or two) that every reader can relate to, juicy secrets simmering under the surface, and a handsome love interest who's about as close to Prince Charming as teenage boys get. The best part? The whole story takes place during the course of the single most amazing girly day out ever. By the end of it, you'll have laughed, cried, and felt your mouth drop open with total shock. All of which are good things, when it comes to reading, but those of you who are easily embarrassed might want to save this one for reading in private. Because you will be laughing out loud. You won't be able to help it.

Not only does Extreme Kissing have a really fun premise, but it has a super shiny format to match. The story is told in a playful patchwork of magazine snippets, the girls' quiz answers, and first person narration times two. Yes, we get both characters' voices - and it's impossible not to be drawn in by both of them. It's lively, uplifting, and one hell of a ride. It also has substance - it questions what real friendship really is, and how well we know those we call our best friends. Are we really that different? And yes, there's a love interest who is pretty darn perfect. And kissing, of course.

If all that hasn't convinced you, here's the doozy: this book is incredibly clever. When it comes to endings, there's nothing I like more than a genius twist. I'm not talking about just any major surprise here. Don't get me wrong: it's not a simple 'OMG, what?' I'm looking for. It's an 'OMG, of course.' You know, that moment when the author reveals what you're suddenly kicking yourself for not realising way earlier on. Extreme Kissing has exactly one of those moments - an awesome, jaw-dropping revelation that suddenly changes everything. It made me want to go back and reread the entire book all over again.

I'd recommend Extreme Kissing to anyone who enjoys a fun, girly story with genuine heart. Heck, I'd recommend it to anyone who has a heart. It's a must-read.

In My Mailbox (18)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Bought:

Possessing Rayne - Kate Cann

Summary from book cover: A scratch at the door. Owl cries in the night. Black candles burnt to the ground.

Why is Rayne suddenly so frightened by everything?

She's come here to get away from the stifling city, away from her mother and her boyfriend - to find space and silence.

But she's mystified by her new group of friends... why are they so interested in the old house? Rayne can't imagine what's coming...

This week, I finally worked out that the upcoming Kate Cann book I was looking forward to, Possessed, is already out in the UK as Possessing Rayne. So I snapped it up, and cursed myself for my own stupidity. Seriously though, I'm really excited to read this. I think it's going to scare me.

Sisters: Phoebe - Marilyn Kaye

Summary from book cover: Meet the lively Gray girls in the Sisters quartet. Share their hopes and ambitions, watch them interact, argue yet depend on one another - as only sisters can. Phoebe, age 11, is the family baby who's in no hurry to grow up - even if everybody else is.

This week's retro YA purchase. The summary is kind of lame but hey, this series is from the eighties. Phoebe is the youngest sister, and her story is the first Sisters book. And yes, this is the very same Marilyn Kaye who wrote Penelope. So you just know these are good stuff.

Bestowed upon me by an awesome blogger friend:

Eyes Like Stars - Lisa Mantchev

Summary from Goodreads: All her world's a stage. Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She is not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but has no lines of her own. Until now.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every place ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Thanks to Becky, aka The Bookette, for this one. What intrigues me about Eyes Like Stars is that apparently Mantchev uses Shakespeare's characters in her own story. I can't wait to find out how that works. I love Shakespeare. I think of him as a kindly old great uncle I never met. I'm wondering if Lisa Mantchev's Beatrice is Shakespeare's Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, because she is my absolute favourite of his characters. And not just for the line 'I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me'. Although mostly for that.

So, what did y'all get?

Review: Ice - Sarah Beth Durst

Eighteen-year-old Cassie is a scientist. Raised in the Arctic, she's found a calling for herself in her father's polar bear research. This is her world, in the ice and snow.

Yet nothing has prepared her for the day she encounters a bear unlike any other - a bear who outruns her snowmobile and disappears into a wall of solid ice. Nothing that is, except for the fairytales her grandmother used to tell her about her lost mother, and the Polar Bear King.

Cassie soon realises that if her grandmother's stories were true, there's a chance she can get her mother back. But to do so, she'll have to make a promise to the Polar Bear King. A promise she's not sure she can keep.

Like everyone else, I grew up on fairytales. The handsome prince, the wicked villain, the happily ever after - I know my favourites inside out. That's why, when I encounter a fairytale retelling, I often most look forward to how the author will interpret or deviate from the standard version. On this occasion, I was able to open Ice without any preconceived ideas or expectations. I don't know the fairytale Sarah Beth Durst's story is based on, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, but I found myself falling in love with its retelling at first sight.

In Ice, Sarah Beth Durst has crafted a beautiful novel that both delights and horrifies. There's delight to be found everywhere - in the incredibly pure love story of Cassie and the Polar Bear King, and in the many whimsical moments. And when I say whimsical, I mean it: a table made of ice that yields delicious feasts on Bear's command, the tree-girl with skin like green leaves and hair like twigs. It's a welcome return to the kind of magical fairytale world we loved as little children, and it's even better than I remembered. At the same time, there's the fact that Bear's breath smells like raw fish even when he takes human form, there's the inconvenience of the human body and there's a lot of pain.

For me, this fusion of reality and magic is part of what makes Ice so incredibly relevant. It's unusual to read a YA novel that combines fantastical elements and an essentially paranormal romance with such mature themes. It's not the idealised version of life or love you find in weaker, less challenging titles. It's real life, and real love. When we first meet Cassie she's a girl, but by the end of the story she is well and truly an adult - and a wife. This is her journey, and in the context of contemporary YA fiction it's off the beaten track. But we all know that's often the best place to be.

Now, I can't review Ice without making a special mention about the breathtaking scenery. Durst paints her world so vividly that I found myself shivering on more than occasion. To put this into context: I read this book lying on the beach in 29 degree sunshine, and I could feel the Arctic cold. Not only that, but as Cassie's journey takes her over land and ocean it's all just as artfully drawn. We're there with her. We feel it.

I'd recommend Ice to anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings in general, but also to anyone who's looking to try the genre for the first time. It's one of the best. If, like me, you're unfamiliar with the original, Ice will make you want to read that too.

Out: now, in the UK and US.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for sending me a copy of this beautiful book for review.

Waiting On Wednesday (16): Claire De Lune - Christine Johnson

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week I'm waiting on...

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson.

Summary from author's website: Hanover Falls hasn’t had a werewolf problem in over one hundred years. Seattle, Copenhagen, Osaka–they’ve had plenty of attacks. But when humans begin dying in Claire Benoit’s town, the panic spreads faster than a rumor at a pep rally. At Claire’s sixteenth birthday party, the gruesome killings are all anyone can talk about. But the big news in Claire’s mind is the fact that Matthew Engle–high-school soccer god and son of a world-renowned lycanthropy expert–notices her. And flirts with her. A lot.

That night, Claire learns that she is the latest in a long line of Benoit werewolves, and that contrary to popular belief, all werewolves are female. Killing humans is forbidden by the code of the pack, but a rogue werewolf has been breaking that law, threatening the existence of Claire’s new pack. As the pack struggles to find and fight the rogue werewolf and Claire struggles with her lupine identity, her heart and her loyalties are torn in two. Claire must keep her new life a secret from even her best friend–and especially from Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt…and with whom Claire is impossibly and undeniably falling head-over-paws in love.

Here's what I love most about that summary: all werewolves are female. What I also love is that it's set in a world where werewolf attacks do happen - and a lycanthropy expert is 'world-renowned'. Intriguing, non?

I can't get enough werewolf fiction, and this book seems to have an original take that I'm absolutely excited about. Plus, a tortured romance - who doesn't like that? With an awesome synopsis, a title that references the music of Debussy and that beautiful cover art, I'm getting major atmosphere from this one.

Claire de Lune is due in the US on May 18, 2010. In the meantime, you can check out author Christine Johnson's website right here. Go on, you know you want to.

Time Travel Tuesday Guest Post With R.A. Riekki

Recently, I was contacted by author R.A. Riekki - a.k.a. Ron - about a guest slot on I Was A Teenage Book Geek. Ron's novel U.P. - about four teens in Michigan's Upper Peninsula - was published by Ghost Road Press in 2008. I thought it would be perfect timing for my first Guest Time Travel Tuesday. So, over to Ron...

"Lauren asked me to do a retro review for I Was A Teenage Book Geek. Two books came to mind immediately--Cult Fiction: a reader's guide and The Little Zen Companion. The first has been a huge inspiration to my writing in general and the second has been influential to my life, being filled with tons of quotes that I love. I just opened up the latter to a random page and the quote is Matthew 6:28-29's "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." I opened randomly to a second quote--Diogenes' "We are more curious about the meaning of dreams than about things we see when awake." The book is filled with thought-provoking words and I like to read them right before going to bed, so that my final thoughts are those of Yamada Roshi, H.P. Stapp, Dogen, and Kitaro Nishida. Sometimes when I'm in a more corporeal mood, I'll do the same thing with Cult Fiction, reading the short bios of my favorite authors, gaining a much different type of inspiration, the motivation that I too can become a great writer like Ryu Murakami, Thomas De Quincey, Jean Genet, Joyce Carol Oates, and Robert Coover. My whole life I've always been fascinated by two things--theology and writing, prophets and authors. And in many ways they are linked. Story is central to religion. And I love the tingles I get from both.

I asked Lauren if I could write about Cult Fiction and I sort of have, but I don't want to be misleading, because I've decided to go another route. Lauren has been laid back about what I write about, so I'm going to follow through on something that fell into my lap late last night. I don't know how it popped into my head. I was writing late into the night and I had a thought, a memory, maybe inspired by the nostalgia that Lauren's blog had encouraged. But I remembered an old record I listened to as a child--Alfred Hitchcock Presents Ghost Stories for Young People. I loved that record, remembering late night moments where I put it on. I can still remember being cross-legged on my floor listening. I had the feeling I'd never find that record again, but then thought I may as well try to see if it's posted on youtube. To my astonishment, it was. I was already tired, but once I started listening I couldn't stop until I heard the entire record, dawn dawning. And at its finish, I realized, profoundly, how influential that record has been on my life. My undergraduate degree in Religion and my graduate degrees in Creative Writing and Literature, those are an extension of my younger years hyptonized by those stories and wanting to find more great stories like those. The adaptation of Saki's "The Open Window" is flawless storytelling. In the tale, a young girl's imagination overwhelms the unsuspecting Mr. Nuttel, as well as the reader. Those wishing to read the short story, which will only take a few worthwhile minutes, can go to http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/openwin.html. The album offers a great variety of ghost story, from the strictly comical "Johnny Takes A Dare (The More The Merrier)" to "The Haunted and the Hunted (The Pirate's Curse)" whose line "I was alone in the haunted house" was at that age the scariest thing I'd ever heard, especially the way the actor says it. And I loved it. I loved the goose bumps.

Of course, as I listen to the album again writing this, Dawn of the Dead is on the TV in the background, so maybe the current day young person wouldn't be amused by the rated G tales on the album. But it's simplicity I found frightening and thoroughly enjoying. The last good spooky moment I had was seeing the "Scary Chair" video on youtube with its subtle ghostly presence of rocking. Before that, it was probably viewing The Blair Witch Project, being lucky enough to have a videotape of the film before it was released in theaters, which means before all the hype, so that I wasn't completely sure if it was documentary or not. Those moments are priceless, but rare.

I think I have this resurgence of interest in horror for quite a few reasons, one of which is that I'm single. When I'm dating someone, I tend to become more of a romantic comedy fan, because it tends to echo my world. But when I'm alone, I guess I regress a bit--will do things like read a horror novel or listen to heavy metal, which are moments woven into my first novel U.P. (http://www.amazon.com/u-p-R-Riekki/dp/0979625564). And I even find myself writing horror. I recently submitted my latest horror novel to an agent who passed on it, but in their comments they wrote that they found portions of the novel to be authentically scary, which made me infinitely happy, because I wasn't sure if I could scare anybody with my writing. And I think I want to, because I remembered how much I liked a good scare as a kid and want to give others that experience.
It wasn't long after that Hitchcock album that I got a bit older and I went to Jason Voorhees movies and found myself not being scared at all, just grossed out, and I longed for the intelligent crafted narratives of Hitchcock and The Twilight Zone. A chance finding on youtube rushed memories back and they solidified my interests--the awe of the supernatural and the awe of a good story.

I hope my writing can be like that--a combination of Basho and Philip K. Dick and Artur Schnabel and Harry Crews and Shakespeare.

Well, I can wish, can't I?

Verdict: not guilty. Which means I really liked it.
"If my heart can become pure and simple like that of a child, I think there probably can be no greater happiness than this." --Kitaro Nishida"

Thank you Ron for sharing those memories and for being such a great guest poster.