Little Fish- Book Review
Little Fish is an graphic memoir about Ramsey’s first year of college. The story, set in 2004, is told through comics, lists, and journal entries taken from her actual Livejournal.
Ramsey lived a sheltered life in her small Michigan town of Paw Paw. She’s a happy, somewhat introverted girl who likes punk music, her small group of friends, and art. She applies to, and is accepted into an art school in Baltimore. She describes her preparations and trepidations in the summer before she leaves.
Her story is an honest true to life tale of what it is like to go off on your own for the first time. Sometimes she is lonely, sometimes she is happy and sociable, and sometimes she has conflicted feelings about being away from home. Ramsey makes some new friends who challenge her in new ways and make her open up to a wider world than she had experienced in Paw Paw. The memoir spans her entire year and includes a light romance with her neighbor.
I really enjoyed her book because I felt my experience was similar to hers. Some would expect a memoir about the first year of college to be full of boozing and sex, but hers was not. It’s good for teens to read a story that shows how college isn’t just about partying.
Towards the end of the book, the lists get a little tedious to read, but overall, I enjoyed the format. This should appeal to reluctant readers and graphic novel enthusiasts. I highly recommend this to high schoolers, college students, and even young adults who will reminisce about college life.
Teen Summer Reading Program
Check out the SRP site HERE for more information on how the program works. The theme this year is “Beneath the Surface” so we are having some great zombie and underground themed programs for teens. Stop by your local branch library for a log and to sign-up starting May 28th.
Here is a list of great zombie books to try this summer:
Ashes by Ilsa Bick -YA BICK
Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris -YA HAR
The Dead and The Enemy by Charlie Higson -YA HIG
Dead City by James Ponti –YA PON
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan –YA RYA
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters –YA WAT
Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by Ehrich Van Lowe—YA VAN
Undead by Kirsty McKay –YA MCK
Undead Much? By Stacey Jay -YA JAY
Z by Michael Ford Thomas –YA THO
Zombie Blondes by Brian James -YA JAM
Zombies Vs. Unicorns short stories –YA ZOM
Maze Runner- Book Review
In the Maze Runner, we meet an unnamed character who wakes up in an elevator. He has no memories of his previous life, and no idea how he got in the elevator. When the doors open, he finds himself outdoors crowded by a group of men about his same age, which he guesses is 16. He slowly learns that all of them are in the same predicament. Some have been there for several months, but no one really knows where they are or why. Various supplies and food is sent up in the elevator for them. They were able to build a farm and a small house but they are enclosed by giant walls. Every day the walls open to reveal a path that leads to a giant maze. Several of the boys enlist as maze runners to try to map the maze and see where it goes. If they get stuck out there at night, they are stung by giant mechanical beasts.
Okay, so it sounds kind of weird but it will really pull you in. The mystery will keep you turning pages. The book has two sequels and a prequel, so you won’t learn all of the secrets in the first one. Check this out if you enjoyed Hunger Games!
Dead Is A Killer Tune by Marlene Perez
I have to be honest, I liked this series better when it was about the Giordano sisters, but it still is a light fun read. They make more sense if you read from the beginning of the series because all of the characters and situations are related. Here is the series in order
Dead is the New Black
Dead is a State of Mind
Dead is So Last Year
Dead is Just a Rumor
Dead is Not an Option
Dead is a Battlefield
Dead is a Killer Tune
The whole series is about the strange town of Nightshade. Most citizens are paranormal in some way and there is even a secret city council made up of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. This book, and the previous one, is about Jessica. Jessica discovered that she is a virago. Viragos can sense danger, so Jessica and her fellow viragos train in fighting and running, etc to help keep their town safe. Jessica had been dating Dominic, the lead singer of a local band, but lately he has been avoiding her. They keep running into each other though at the Battle of Bands, a big competition taking place in Nightshade. Dominic has a strange psychic ability where he will go into a trance and sing a song that in someway predicts the future. When this happens at the Battle of the bands, Jessica tries to make sense of it. It seems to be related to a missing flute from a local estate sale and to another band in the battle, Hamlin. A lot of the Hamlin fans have been causing trouble about town and Jessica thinks something deeper is going on there.
There is also another plot line involving some missing magic dust and a dollhouse in which the dolls have come to life. Honestly, it can be a little hard to follow because it seems like a lot of mysterious things are happening and there’s no way to connect them until everything is revealed at the end of the book. I had to go back after everything was solved and read some parts again so I could put all the pieces together. Also, there are a lot of characters in her books, so it can be hard to keep track of everyone. Nonetheless, the mysteries are always intriguing and the main characters are strong females, so I will continue to read and enjoy this series.