I mentioned that I didn't exactly finish the Spring Reading Thing 2008 Challenge. As of today, I only have one book left to read; of course, the challenge ended on June 19, but who's keeping track, right?

Katrina asked all the participants to write a wrap-up post about the challenge, so here goes:

Did you finish all the books you had planned to read? If not, why? Uh, no. Mostly because I bit off more than I could chew.

Do you think the challenge helped you read more? Or maybe helped you read books you otherwise wouldn't have? No, I don't think it helped me read more, but it did help me clear some books off my TBR mountain that I may not have gotten to so quickly otherwise.

What was your favorite book you read this spring? Least favorite? My favorites were Specials by Scott Westerfield and Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan. My least favorite was Pretties by Scott Westerfield.

Did you discover any new authors or genres that you now love? Two of the books I read were by authors new to me - Katherine Hannigan and Michelle Richmond. I don't think Hannigan has written more than one book, but I definitely plan to read Richmond's others.

What did you learn about your reading habits or interests? One thing I've discovered is that having a deadline helps me to read books faster, but it also makes them less appealing somehow. A lot of times, I find I have to force myself to read challenge books. Is that weird?

Are you interested in another "Fall Into Reading" challenge this fall? Absolutely. I love your challenges, Katrina. Thanks for hosting!

Fourth grader Ida B. Applewood, heroine of Katherine Hannigan's first novel Ida B, lives an almost perfect life. She spends her days roaming her family's farm with her trusty dog, stargazing with her father, or cuddled up with a good book. No playmates live nearby, so Ida B. shares all her amazing ideas with her family's apple trees and the brook that trickles through the farm. According to her:

Some people might stop me right there and say, "Ida B, you could wait for eternity and a day and you're not going to hear one of those trees talking to you, let alone a brook. Trees don't have mouths and they don't speak, and you might want to take yourself to the doctor's and get a very thorough check-up real soon."

And after I took a minute to give my patience and forbearance a chance to recover my mouth from the rudeness that was itching to jump out of it, I would just say this: "There's more than one way to tell each other things, and there's more than one way to listen, too. And if you've never heard a tree telling you something, then I'd say you don't really know how to listen just yet. But I'd be happy to give you a few pointers sometime" (8-9).

The contented Ida B cannot imagine anything marring her happiness, so she's shocked when the trees whisper about trouble on the horizon. It comes in the form of a diagnosis: her mother has cancer. Before Ida B knows it, her world has transformed from "just about righter than right to a million miles beyond wrong" (143). Her mother, who once sparkled with life, spends all her time sleeping. Her father, once patient and indulgent, snaps at Ida B for anything and everything, it seems. It's bad enough that her parents have become strangers, but when they inform her they will be selling off part of the farm to cover hospital bills, she's stunned. Apparently, it's not quite enough to give away Ida B's beloved trees, because her parents have another bomb to drop: She will have to attend public school. As Ida B accepts her sentence to take the "Yellow Prison of Propulsion," to the "Sacrificial Pit of Never-Ending Agony," she feels her heart twist into a "sharp, black stone that was small enough to fit into the palm of my hand. It was so hard nobody could break it and so sharp it would hurt anybody who touched it" (87). She vows to let no one - not teachers, classmates, or parents - inside.

When the new owners of the Applewoods' property starts ripping down trees to make way for a house, Ida B sees it as the ultimate betrayal. Her black heart blames the strangers who have stolen her parents' bodies. Bitter and friendless, Ida B must face the sorrows of her new life. With the help of a kind teacher and a kid who stinks at math, she might just be able to climb out of the pit of her despair. And maybe, just maybe, the trees will start talking to her again.

I'm not sure it's possible to describe the loveliness of this novel. It's a simple story told in the pitch-perfect voice of a brave young narrator. It's also a rich, moving tale that will speak to readers' hearts, however black they may be. The writing sparkles with whimsy and subtlety, making it a funny, heartwarming story you simply won't want to miss.

Grade: A

Books like Chocolat, Five Quarters of the Orange, and Gentleman & Players keep me reading (and loving) English author Joanne Harris. Unfortunately, her newest book The Girl With No Shadow seems to be earning mountains of negative reviews. I hate to be disappointed by my favorite authors, so I decided to ignore Chocolat's sequel and check out Harris' first YA novel, Runemarks, instead. Here's the story ...

In the village of Malbry, where magic is feared and the goblins in the cellar are routinely ignored, 14-year-old
Maddy Smith stands out like a sore thumb. The "ruinmark" on her palm brands her an outsider, a witch, a Faerie - animals born with similar marks are regularly put down. Because her father is respected in town, Maddy's presence is tolerated ... but not entirely trusted. A one-eyed traveler is, in fact, her only friend.

One-Eye returns only once a year, but he uses his visits to teach Maddy about subjects no one else will broach. He fills her head with talk of runes, glamours, goblins, and dormant gods. He tells her of the epic wars between Order and Chaos, battles that continue to brew. Finally, he describes "the Whisperer," an ancient treasure hidden deep within a goblin-infested hill. As One-Eye warns, "This - treasure - may turn out to be as dangerous as it is valuable. Even speaking of it has its risks. And in many ways it might be safer for it to have stayed sleeping and forgotten" (48). Still, says the old Outlander, it's a key to maintaining Order in perilous times. Because of Maddy's special magic, he asks her to retrieve it.

Thus begins Maddy's journey into the turbulent Underworld, where goblins and other creatures scrabble about and nothing - nothing - is what it seems. Aided by an unlikely crew, Maddy makes her way through dangerous territory. She will face countless goblins, angry gods, an enormous snake, a dangerous enemy and Death herself on the journey. On her way, Maddy will also find the answers to questions that have plagued her all her life: Who is she, really? What does the runemark on her hand mean? What's her purpose? Is she brave enough to fulfill it?

While I enjoyed Runemarks - it had interesting characters, solid writing, and lots of action - it didn't enchant me the way other of Harris' books have. The story seemed overly long and a little generic. It was a fun, fast-moving story, but still a little disappointing for me. I don't know how to explain it - for me, Runemarks just didn't sparkle the way a Harris novel usually does. I could have used just a little more magic.

Grade: B-

Tally Youngblood is living every teen's dream: She's gorgeous, has a model-hot boyfriend, and hangs out with the coolest clique in New Pretty Town. Like all Pretties, she spends her evenings bouncing from party to party, sipping champagne and following the newest "pretty-making" trends. She and her friends chase anything that keeps life "bubbly," whether it's a new tattoo, fancy eye "surg," or a fabulous stunt. Tally loves her Pretty life, but sometimes it seems as if her mind has been ... erased. Sure, she can remember her days as a littlie, but the months she spent as a rebel Smokie have faded to almost nothing. Perhaps that's why her life feels "as tenuous as a soap bubble, shivering and empty" (45). When a figure from her past finds her at a party, her memory flares. She knows he represents something important, but what?
As you can see, Scott Westerfeld's Pretties begins almost exactly where Uglies left off (If you haven't read Uglies yet, you may want to stop reading this review as it will probably contain spoilers from that book), but Tally has changed significantly. Having undergone the Pretty operation, she now has the lesions on her brain that make all Pretties dull-witted and docile. Her hazy memory prevents her from remembering why she became Pretty in the first place - to act as a guinea pig for the Smokies, who have designed a pill to erase the lesions which keep the Pretties' brains in bondage. When Tally's visitor leaves her a letter explaining all this, along with 2 pills, she balks - she doesn't want to be a "bubblehead" forever, but can she really leave her life in New Pretty Town? In a moment of panic, Tally and her boyfriend Zane each swallow a pill. The antidote clears her head, but Tally still wavers between the Pretty known and the Ugly unknown. Zane, on the other hand, can't wait to find the Smokies. The crippling headaches Zane suffers decide the issue - in a spectacular trick, Tally, Zane and their friends blow off New Pretty Town and head for the Smokies' outpost.
When her plan goes awry, Tally finds herself slogging through the strange outside world alone. With a little help from an unlikely ally, she finally rejoins her friends. Although Tally has left the Pretty world behind, she's still unprepared for the Smokies' Ugliness. The rebel group is made up of people who hid in the Wild rather than receive the Pretty operation - people with scars, zits and asymmetrical features. In other words, Uglies. Even David, Tally's first love, seems altered. Still, she trusts the Smokies, knows they are the only ones who can help Zane and all the other Pretties.
Of course, Tally's luck rarely holds and it's not long before the cruel, super-strong Specials arrive. With Zane too weak to move, she will have to make a choice - flee with David and the other Smokies or stay behind with Zane? Can she save the Pretties from their hazy existence? Can she even save herself?
I may be in the minority here, but I actually liked Pretties better than Uglies. My biggest complaint with the latter was its preachiness - the former still pounds its messages through, but with more subtlety. The book definitely explores important issues - individual agency v. collective thinking; outer beauty v. inner integrity; clarity v. mind-numbing substances; cutting to feel alive; the complexity of human nature - but action takes the front burner. Pretties provides as much heart-pounding excitement as its predecessor, rocketing to a surprising conclusion that will have you reaching anxiously for Specials, the next book in the series. Sure, there are some problems with Pretties - most irritating is the abundance of "pretty-speak," which gets old very fast - but overall, it's an exciting adventure that totally renewed my interest in this inventive series. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Grade: B+

Jodi Picoult excels at examining "ripped from the headlines" issues in her novels; her newest, Change of Heart, is no exception. The story involves Shay Bourne, a 33-year-old carpenter who becomes New Hampshire's first Death Row inmate in nearly 60 years, when he is convicted of murdering two people. His victims are 7-year-old Elizabeth Nealon and her stepfather, police officer Kurt Nealon. Because of the heinous nature of the crimes, Shay is sentenced to death by lethal injection.

The bulk of the story takes place 11 years after Shay's conviction. With the day of his execution edging closer and closer, Shay begs for the chance to make his death meaningful by donating his heart to Elizabeth's younger sister, Claire, who will die without a transplant. Prison officials scoff at the idea, but determined ACLU lawyer Maggie Bloom promises to help him carry out his wish. With the help of Shay's spiritual advisor, Father Michael, Maggie puts her ambitious plan into action. The plan, of course, is not without its complications. For one thing, Father Michael has not divulged his big secret - he served on the jury that convicted Shay - to either Maggie or Shay. More importantly, however, is the fact that a good chunk of Americans believe the Death Row inmate is, in fact, Jesus Christ. Although Shay makes no such claims, the evidence seems irrefutable - not only is he a 33-year-old carpenter of ambigious birth (he's been in foster care all his life), but he's also performing miracles. Fellow inmates see him turn water into wine, erase hideous sores from an AIDS sufferer, bring a bird back to life, and distribute one piece of Bazooka chewing gum to multiple prisoners. Father Michael hears him preach from Gnostic texts, despite the fact that Shay has had no religious training whatsoever. Because of all this, thousands gather outside the prison, convinced that Christ's Second Coming has come to pass. Of course, there are also hordes of opposers, who claim the inmate is exactly what he appears to be - a cold-blooded killer.

In true Picoult fashion, the story is told alternately by the key players - Maggie, Father Michael, June Nealon (the victims' wife and mother), Claire Nealon, and inmate Lucius DuFresne. Each narrator offers a different perspective of Shay Bourne. Maggie knows he's no Jesus, but she's committed to helping him anyway (gaining media attention for the ACLU along the way, of course); Father Michael's guilty conscience pushes him into helping Shay, but the more time he spends with the man, the more he's convinced that Shay really is Jesus Christ; June Nealon wants nothing to do with the devil who killed her family, but she's forced to consider his offer to save the life of her daughter; Lucius doesn't know what to think; and Claire's voice offers a startling revelation when it's finally heard at the book's conclusion. While the characters puzzle out the mystery of Shay Bourne, the reader is forced to ask herself some tough questions, the least of which concern the Death Penalty. More disturbing are questions such as these: Can a person erase his past evil acts with enough good ones? How can people who profess to be Christians act in ways that are decidedly unChristlike? If there is a God, how can He allow good people to suffer? Which God/religion is correct? When Jesus comes again, will believers recognize Him or will He be condemned once again?

I've read all of Picoult's novels, and the thing I like most about them is the way she examines hot button issues from all sides. She has the ability to make me empathize with a variety of characters, even those who have committed reprehensible crimes. Her books are entertaining, with interesting characters, lots of racing-the-clock action, a little romance, and a little courtroom drama, but most of all, they make me think. Because of the religious issues Picoult tackles, Change of Heart has stuck with me more than her other novels. I definitely don't agree with a lot of the ideas presented, but the book provides fascinating fodder for discussion and debate.

Do I recommend the book? Absolutely. It's fascinating. Did I like the story? Kinda. There were parts of it that rubbed me the wrong way, and other aspects (like the ending) that I loved. Is it a good read? Definitely. It's got a little bit of everything, including enough suspense to qualify as a page-turner. Is it one of Picoult's best? Not really, but I think it has to be said that Picoult at her very worst is better than most authors at the top of their games. Although I wasn't thrilled with Change of Heart's storyline, I still consider it a solid contribution by this always-intriguing author.

For another view of the book (which somewhat matches my own), check out this post.

Grade: B