Beach Reading: BLISS

Lauren Myracle is a hot YA author, and with good reason. She has the magical combo nailed: Great/hot topics, strong characters, and solid writing (to me that means that it moves fast with just enough, not too much, description). She she's on a roll.

BLISS is her latest. It's a YA book, but very appealing to adults. For one reason, it takes place in the early seventies, which is before my time, but I understand many of her references because they were part of my childhood. I'm uncertain how today's teens feel about being transported back in time when cellphones, text messages and iTunes didn't exist, when these components are essential to their very being.

As you can see from this cover, which I love, BLISS is a bloody book without being pure horror....I would call it Supernatural Suspense. (I made that up.)

Bliss is the child of hippie parents and most recently lived in a commune. She is uprooted when her parents flee to Canada to avoid Nixon’s policies during the Vietnam War, and she's left with her wealthy grandmother in recently-integrated Atlanta. (Note for teens: The notion that there was a time when peeople WEREN'T integrated is an important thing to understand.)

Quickly, Bliss needs to understand bras, hygiene, make-up, the KKK and the social structure of her prep school where the students are obsessed with the Manson trial and where Bliss is haunted by an evil voice.

The story is interspersed with diary entries, which allows the reader know more than the first-person narrator. There are also snippets of quotes from news and TV which I find confusing.

This is not G-rated. I recommend it for the PG/PG-13 teems and adults due to the horror which, at times, is gruesome.

Geek is the new Black

I was speaking to a totally cool, pretty, trendy woman at work the other day. She blushed when she professed that she is actually a geek. In fact, I'm pretty much surrounded by geeks. It seems Geek is the new Cool, and this is a very good thing, I think. When I was a kid Geeks were outcasts. Now, the non-geeks are working for the then-geeks. The then-geeks paid a high price of unpopularity, ridicule and awkwardness...(If you're a kid and you don't know what I'm talking about, add Revenge of the Nerds to your Netflix list). They are probably spending (or have spent) big bucks on therapy from a crappy childhood, but they can afford it, right? I wonder if they think their current socio-economic status was worth the price.

So, how did this wonderful transformation of Geek being Cool occur? There are probably many factors, but I think the media may be thanked. Let's take Zoey 101. They still have the quintessential nerd in Quinn (and her awesome Quinventions), but she is in the "in crowd". Even Zoey, the most popular and beautiful girl in school is super smart. This is a great role model for today's youth. (Of course, then Jamie Lynn got pregnant at seventeen.....go figure.) We also have Hermione Granger, Hannah Montana and iCarly who are all booky, totally cool and haven't conceived children. (And I really hope they don't any time soon.)

Yet still, other shows like Drake and Josh reinforce the old stereotypes. Drake is cool, popular with the girls, but a poor student, while Josh is the opposite. Zack and Cody fall into this pattern too. However, both Josh and Cody have grown cooler with age despite their geek handicap. Whatever the reason for this transformation, I'm glad. I think Geek should be cool, good grades rewarded, extra curricular activities applauded, science made sexy, and computer skills appreciated because these are solid building blocks for the future success.

(Becky, as one of my coolest and geekiest friends, I expect you'll comment.)

Beach Reading...Review of: IN THE CARDS: LOVE

As my summer of reading Aladdin Mix books continues, I've recently finished IN THE CARDS: LOVE By Mariah Fredericks. It's hard for me to read a book without also having KELLY QUINN on my mind. That is particularly true of IN THE CARDS because there are similarities. IN THE CARDS has three girls who inherit a deck of mysterious tarot cards. KELLY QUINN'S SECRET COOKING CLUB also has three girls who find a secret and mysterious book. Both stories have a similar magical smell.

IN THE CARDS: LOVE is the first of three books that explores middle-grader life, and all its friend-stuff. Anna, the narrator, is left a set of tarot cards by an elderly woman for whom she cat-sat, but who is now dead. Anna, a self-proclaimed 'nobody', has a crush on hottie Declan. The cards indicate Anna will get the boy, but she's disappointed to learn that Declan was seen kissing the popular girl at a Halloween party. That romance doesn't last long, because as the cards predicted, Declan soon chooses Anna instead. Anna's ego balloons and soon she blows off her buddies to spend more time with her now boyfriend...who turns out to be less awesome than she'd originally thought. There are all sorts of middle-grade emotions: jealousy, pettiness and self-consciousness run amok depicted in this book.

The recommendation: It's a good read filled with good characters, cool cats and interesting tarot tid-bits. This book delves into boyfriend-girlfriend relationships more than the other Aladdin Mix books I've read. It's still G, but might be for the older middle-graders ie: 11, 12, 13 even 14.

What are YOU reading on the beach??

Playground Politics

The 4th of July is over, but I'm not done with my political poop just yet. I have a question for Kelly Quinn and her friends to consider: Let's pretend there's a strong, popular kid who everyone likes and admires. Then, there's a big, mean kid who is a real bully. Lastly, there's the small kid that the bully picks on. I hope this scene sounds familiar.

Here's my question: Should the popular kid help the small kid?
The popular kid has the ability to get the bully to lay-off. But, it's not like he's related to the small kid, or obligated in some way. The popular kid could see the bully kid beating up the small kid and walk by while the small kid gets his brain crushed.

I mean, the popular kid has lots of other stuff to do: football, homework, volunteer activities, chores, parties, family stuff etc... no shortage of cool stuff. And if he helps this one small kid, what if all the other small kids being bullied want his help? What if he's helping some small kid and then his cousin or brother gets bullied and needs his help, but he can't help his brother because he's protecting a bunch of other kids? You see the dilemna...

So, I'll ask my question another way: Just because the popular kid can help the small kid, should he help the small kid?

Super Serious Patriotic Poop, By Kelly Quinn

Cindy: This week bloggers everywhere are writing about Independence Day. When I sat down to write a brief note, I swiftly fell into clichés. So, I thought I'd ask one of my favorite characters, Kelly Quinn, for her perspective of freedom. Take it away, Kelly.

Kelly: "This is so cool, my first blog. My neighbor Charlotte (Blah!!) Barney is going to be so jealous.
I'd like to start by saying that Cindy is awesome.

Here's the deal with the 4th of July:
Do you know that lots and lots of people died...I mean they chose to die, like they volunteered to risk their lives so that people hundreds of years later...like me...like now...so that I could be any religion I wanted to be? and so that I could get a job doing whatever I want? and so that I can own a house? and so that I can vote (when I am 18)?
As my friend Darbie would say, "That's some super serious patriotic poop."
So, I think the 4th of July is a totally big deal and that Sam - he's the guy that owns Sam's Super iScream, home of the Super Swirley - should create a whole new frozen concoction just for this day....like a Frozen Fruity Firecracker: Blue Raspberry ice cream, red strawberry syrup and white marshmallow topping, all swizzled around and topped with sparklers that really light up. As my dad says, "there's no such thing as too much ice cream or too much football." Forgetting the football, he knows what he's talking about, because he's been eating ice cream his entire life."

Cindy: Thanks, Kelly. I think you're awesome too.

Cindy: All talk of ice cream aside, I'm glad we have a day to celebrate our freedom, because it is something that warrants celebrating.

I hope you enjoy all your many freedoms.