Tamora Pierce's Bloodhound Review by Becca L.

How dare she!?! She is supposed to be with Rosto! ROS. TO. Not this "Dale" person. I don't care if I'm giving things away, I am angry. Serves her right. Serves. Her. Right. What serves her right, you ask? Sorry, my judgement-clouding anger has abated. I will give no more away!

Beka is back, and and, to be horribly cliche, better than ever. Though she is taken from her dear Corus (and Rosto. ROSTO.), she continues to fight for truth, justice, and the Tortallan way. And now she has a doggie! As anybody who is anybody knows, Tamora Pierce was at our dear Martin Library this summer and read an excerpt from her latest book, Bloodhound. Beka is undercover chasing down colemongers with the help of Goodwin and a rather silly hound named Atchoo in Port Caynn. Cool people will recognize Port Caynn as being close to Pirate's Swoop, Allanna's home with Beka's decendent, George.


Everyone, and by everyone i really do mean everyone, must read this book. But wait, I hear you say. I thought you were angry. Thank you for paying attention, dear reader. Yes. I am angry. I am infuriated. I want Tamora Pierce to die, and then come immediately back to life because I love her and I'm sorry for saying such horrible things. It is my anger that should clue you in to the sheer awesome contained within this book. I want to slap Beka. She isn't real, but I still want to slap her. Only a truly amazing read causes such emotion toward a character and an author.

Run, do not walk, to your nearest time machine, go to April, buy this book, read it, shred it in fury, buy another one, shred it in despair, buy one more, and don't you dare hurt this one! Do you have any idea how many trees you people have killed? But you told me to, I hear that same observant voice say. I want to throttle a fictional character. I am clearly not to be trusted. Now shoo. You have some sad and lonely waiting to do until April.
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L.A. Meyer's My Bonnie Light Horseman - Review by Becca L.

In this latest installment of the Bloody Jack series, Jackie has gotten herself into the most far-fetched bit of trouble yet. We've stuck with her through cross-dressing, finishing school, piracy, slavery, and grand theft nautical. Even I, Jackie's biggest fan, cannot swallow our heroine as a spy/ballerina/burlesque/French soldier. Yes, she tackles all these roles in a single book. One day she's gaining information on French troop movements via pillow-talk, the next she's delivering the orders that save Napoleon's bacon. And the author tells us this is not the end of it!

I have never been a supporter of neat, tidy, gift-wrapped endings. In fact, I am highly offended by them. But would it kill L.A. Meyer to give it a ending? Every book ends in the middle of something very important. Just send her back to England with Jaimy already! She can get in plenty of book-worthy trouble when she's married.

I am all for suspense, but I have been waiting with baited breath for far too long. I have another bone to pick with you, Mr. Meyer. When did Jackie become gentrified? A large part of her charm stems from her cockney upbringing. I cannot have a properly educated Cheapside scammer! It simply will not do! I demand that you return her to her humbler speech patterns that must be read aloud to be understood!

Still, I can never stay mad at Jackie for long. She holds a special place in my heart as the one heroine I actually like who can be snuck into the "realistic fiction" box of required reading. I shudder to think what the seventh book will bring. I doubt there is anything left to subject her to.

Daniel Waters Generation Dead - A Review By Becca L.

Let us take a look at the premise of Daniel Water’s first book, Generation Dead. American teenagers are refusing to stay dead. Let me finish. Zombies, or the differently biotic, roaches are the new minority group. They are attending public high schools and facing discrimination, as do all new people. But are they people? That is the question this book seeks to answer. I think. Never mind that it is completely irrelevant. This may be the biggest problem I have with this book. It focuses on social issues that will never, ever appear. The book takes itself way, way too seriously, especially when you consider the oh-so-cliché plot and characters. Our heroine, Phoebe, is a misunderstood goth girl with only two true friends. Margi, the barely described best friend, is more concerned with the status quo than her friend’s problems. Adam is the boy next door, star of the football team, and secretly in love with Phoebe.

I have just described nearly every teen book in print. Now let’s add a handful of dead kids. Phoebe will, of course, fall inexplicably in love with the most functional one, Tommy. Naturally, everyone at school hates him, targeting both of them for mockery and violence. I won’t give away the ending, but let’s just say Tommy’s “big revelation” will remind you of a Lifetime Movie. I will Daniel Waters credit for creating an almost plausible explanation for the zombies and a believable range of motion. Sadly, the most well-developed and believable characters are dead. I don’t mean to say this is a complete failure. Some parts are extremely entertaining, and though the story is predictable, it was still an enjoyable enough read. I think adequate would be the best word to describe this book. It wasn’t amazing, or even what I would call good, but it will do in a pinch. This would make a great book for SRC with 400 pages of teen fluff. An easy way to rack up minutes without having to think too hard.

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