So, I've seen features comparing book covers, but what about plots that are eerily similar? When I received an ARC for Tom Dolby's Secret Society (available 9/29/09) from Harper Teen, my first thought was, "This sounds just like Blue Bloods." At that point, I hadn't even started Melissa de la Cruz's vampire series, but, since I happen to have copies of all the books (Thanks, Disney!), I decided to delve into it first. After reading both books, I realized just how right my first impression was - the books are very similar. Not enough to be called copycats, but enough to be a little ... weird. I'm not accusing the authors of anything, I'm just saying ... well, you be the judge ...

The first book in de la Cruz's series - Blue Bloods - introduces us to the creme de la creme of New York society. Graced with wealth and privilege, it's a group whose family roots stretch back to the Mayflower. The new generation swaggers through the doors of the elite Duchesne School swathed in True Religion jeans, tottering on Manolo Blahnik heels, and swinging the newest Prada handbags. Chauffered Town Cars whisk them home to their Park Avenue penthouses or off to Neiman Marcus for a session with their personal shoppers. The Manhattan social scene cares less about their age than about the limitless funds on their credit cards - weekends sail by in a swirl of frothy drinks, glittery parties and celebrity companionship. With their trust funds, $500 highlights, and closets jammed with designer pieces, the new generation is just as rich, just as powerful, just as glamorous as its elders.

Although her blue-blooded ancestry makes her one of the elite, 15-year-old Schuyler van Alen hardly fits in with the snooty, moneyed crowd. Although her family's fortune made Manhattan what it is, the money's long gone. It's just as well - Schuyler's style has always been more vintage than Versace. She's content enough dressing like a bag lady, hanging out with her best friend Oliver, and watching the in-crowd from afar. There's only one problem: Schuyler's changing. Not only is she seeing weird things, but her blue veins seem to be popping out of her skin. Oddest of all, Duchesne god Jack Force is suddenly paying a lot of attention to her. Then comes the invitation that changes everything. A summons from The Committe reveals the secret of the Blue Bloods, the secret of what she and her friends really are - vampyres. Only Schuyler's not quite the same as the others, which makes her a very enticing target.



Secret Society begins with a familiar scene: wealthy teenagers lined up outside a trendy nightclub, waiting admission into an inner sanctum filled with drinks, drugs and pretty playboys. The kids come from the upper echelon of New York's high society - their parents are business tycoons, society ladies and politicians. Like their elders, the new generation sops up the designer labels, the Upper East Side prep schools, and the VVIP lounges in the city's glitziest clubs. The most promising of them are inducted into The Society, a group so hush-hush no one's sure if it really exists.
Phoebe Dowling, a 16-year-old transplant from L.A., hardly considers herself among the elite upperclass. Sure, she's attending the prestigious Chadwick School, but inclusion into its in-crowd hasn't been exactly forthcoming. A chance encounter with handsome Nick Bell changes all that. Suddenly, she's getting invitations to the most exclusive parties, one of which leaves her with a woozy head, an ankh tattoo on her neck, and a forced loyalty to The Society. Before she really knows what's happening, Phoebe's jumping at The Society's every command, attending a dizzying array of late-night parties, moving in circles approved by its leadership, and asking no questions. At first, it's incredible - she's finally experiencing the New York she's always dreamed about. By some miracle, she's even managed to land a show at an exclusive art gallery. Everything she's ever desired is now within her grasp. So, why is she so unhappy? Why does the silly little club terrify her? And why are her friends disappearing? It's becoming more and more obvious that The Society doesn't just give - it also takes. Everything.
Like I said, the plots of these two books diverge enough that they're not identical, but the similarities are many. The New York settings, the privileged cast members, the prestigious prep schools, the secret societies - it's all there. Both books feature teenagers with absent parents who don't notice or don't care that their underage children are parading all over the city drinking, smoking, snorting coke and cozying up with anyone who's willing. Speaking of parents (and grandparents), characters in both Blue Bloods and Secret Society discover theirs are harboring some serious - and similar - secrets of their own. There's also the issue of Schuyler Van Alen and Patchfield Evans - the former lives with her grandmother in a once stunning, now dillapidated palace, muses on her family's dwindling wealth, visits her comatose mother on the weekends, and wonders about the father who died when she was an infant; Patch (of Secret Society) also lives with his Gram in a crumbling dwelling with a prestigious address, ruminates that "he and his grandmother had the oldest kind of old money: the kind that didn't exist anymore" (17), spends time at the hospital where his mother has been institutionalized, and misses the father who died when he was a child. Uncanny, don't you think?
The other big similarity between Blue Bloods and Secret Society (note the matching 2-word, alliterative titles) is that I didn't love either one. None of the characters in either book develop much, the writing's similarly stiff, and both plots need work. That being said, I think Secret Society is the better book. It has more depth, more believable conflict, and more sympathetic characters. I still don't get all the whys and wherefores of it, but at least it didn't get as ridiculous as Blue Bloods did.
I know you're all dying for the answer to the big question: Will I be reading the sequels? Since Disney so kindly sent me the rest of the Blue Bloods series to review, I will be reading it. If I didn't have the books on hand, I wouldn't bother. As for Secret Society, the semi-cliffhanger ending makes it pretty obvious that a sequel is forthcoming. Yes, I will be reading it. Why? Because even though I didn't love the book, I liked it enough to care about what happens to the characters. So, yeah. Pretty ho-hum about these two.
Okay, here's how it all stacks up in my grade book:
Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
Grade: C-
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language; some sexual content; scenes with underage drinking, smoking and drug use; and violence
Secret Society by Tom Dolby
Grade: C
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for some language; some sexual content; scenes with underage drinking, somking and drug use; and violence
(Book images are from Barnes & Noble)

Between my home, my family, church duties, blogging, volunteering and everything else, I've got a lot going on. Like most desperate housewives (desperate for more sleep and more hours in the day, that is) I can use all the advice on time management I can get. Unfortunately, not every principle used in the corporate world transfers to household management; otherwise, I would have found Nicolas Soergel's Happy About An Extra Hour Every Day much more helpful. Not that I didn't get any new ideas. I did. Overall, though, the book's designed for career people, who will no doubt find it much more useful than I did.

Soergel, who has been a successful businessman for many years, insists that by using time more efficiently we can all make better use of the 24 hours/1,440 minutes/86,400 seconds we're given each day. He encourages us to "spend time as consciously as you spend money" (3). How, exactly do we do this? Soergel gives us the usual advice: Get up early, so that you can work when it's quiet and you're less likely to be interrupted; Tackle difficult tasks first; Avoid procrastination; Watch less tv; Keep your desk clean and organized; Reduce clutter; etc. He's also got a few unorthodox solutions such as ridding your desk of "decoration" (i.e. framed photographs, personal books, etc.); eliminating the use of Post-It notes; programming your mouse so that you can single-click instead of double-click, etc. Soergel also addresses sticky situations like how to deal with a boss who's constantly interrupting your work; how to get chatty people off the phone; and how to configure your office in a way that maximizes efforts and minimizes unwanted visitors.

Not all of Soergel's suggestions deal exclusively with the corporate world. In the chapter titled "How to Save Time at Home," he discusses standard strategies such as decluttering, creating a cleaning schedule, planning weekly meals, taking a Polaroid of shoes to glue on the outside of shoeboxes, etc. A couple struck me as funny: He encourages readers to reduce primping time by keeping hair short and "us[ing] a decent color for your nails" (34). I did learn a few things, but I'd heard most of it before.

The biggest thing Happy About An Extra Hour Every Day has going for it is that it's a fast, easy read. It's not particularly engaging or well-written, but it does move right along. It also has some excellent links (I especially like http://www.gubb.net/, which Soergel recommends for list-making). I do wish the book was more focused, more upbeat, and better edited, but all in all, it's not bad. Most of it wasn't really relevant for me, but business people should find it helpful.

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: G, but man, would it be boring!

Everybody's doing it. I've been wanting to do it for a while, but didn't want to pay the money unless it was really worth it. Then I found out it's only $10/year. That, I can handle. So, I now on the domain name www.blogginboutbooks.com . It may take a couple of days to update, so if things are a little wonky around here, that's why. Blogger automatically re-routes traffic from the blogspot.com address to this new one - you should probably still update your feeds, though. I wouldn't want to lose you :)