Monday, July 20, 2009

In Case You Missed It (2)

Another one of these today. (:

In Case You Missed It is when I post about older books that I still wantwantwant.

[descriptions from Amazon]

Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before by David Yoo

If Albert Kim has learned one thing in his tragic adolescence, it's that God (probably a sadistic teenaged alien) does not want him to succeed at Bern High. By the end of sophomore year, Al is so tired of humiliation that he's chosen to just forget girls and high school society in general, and enjoy the Zen-like detachment that comes from being an intentional loser.

Then he meets Mia Stone, and all the repressed hormones come flooding back. Mia, his co-worker at the Bern Inn, is adorable, popular, and most intimidatingly, the ex- long-term girlfriend of Ivy-bound, muscle-bound king of BHS and world class jerk, Ryan Stackhouse. But -- chalk it up to the magic of Al's inner beauty -- by the end of a summer vacuuming hotel rooms and goofing off together, he and Mia are officially "something."

Albert barely has time to ponder this miracle before the bomb drops: Ryan has been diagnosed with cancer, and he needs Mia's support, i.e. constant companionship. True, he's lost weight and he's getting radiation, but that doesn't make him any less of a jerk. And to Albert, it couldn't be more apparent that Ryan is using his cancer to steal Mia back. With the whole town rallying behind Ryan like he's a fallen hero, and Mia emotionally confused and worried for Ryan, Al's bid for love is not a popular campaign. In fact, it's exactly like driving the wrong way on a five-lane highway.

In this desperately funny novel, David Yoo tells an authentic story of first love, and therein captures the agony, the mania, the kicking and screaming that define teenage existence.

---The title of this one is GLORIOUS. I <3>

Good Enough by Paula Yoo

How to make your Korean parents happy:

1. Get a perfect score on the SATs.
2. Get into HarvardYalePrinceton.
3. Don't talk to boys.*

Patti's parents expect nothing less than the best from their Korean-American daughter. Everything she does affects her chances of getting into an Ivy League school. So winning assistant concertmaster in her All-State violin competition and earning less than 2300 on her SATs is simply not good enough.

But Patti's discovering that there's more to life than the Ivy League. To start with, there's Cute Trumpet Guy. He's funny, he's talented, and he looks exactly like the lead singer of Patti's favorite band. Then, of course, there's her love of the violin. Not to mention cool rock concerts. And anyway, what if Patti doesn't want to go to HarvardYalePrinceton after all?

Paula Yoo scores big in her hilarious debut novel about an overachiever who longs to fit in and strives to stand out. The pressure is on!

*Boys will distract you from your studies.

---This one sounds funny too. I like funny.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

---Mostly I want this one because I want to read it before they release the movie version of it, but Adele gave it a good review the other day as well.

10 comments:

  1. Beastly is pretty good, so be sure to read it before the movie comes out! :) The other two are books that have been on my wishlist for a while.

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  2. I've read Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before and Good Enough, and they're both hilarious. They're the same kind of funny and really enjoyable. I haven't read Beastly, but want to.

    - Alex

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  3. I just got Beastly from the library and plan on reading and reviewing it soon... Head over to my blog with in the next week or so if you wanted to see what I thought... ;)

    The other two look good too though... darn. The TBR list grows again.

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  4. Beastly was a cool riff on Beauty and the Beast. I read it when it first came out. I recommend it frequently and plan on rereading it when the movie is released.

    I adored Good Enough. It had been on my tbr pile forever until an eighth grade girl chose it to do a booktalk on it. She did a great job and created a wonderful poster to promote it as well. So I pulled it out from the bottom of the pile and am glad I did. It's laugh-out-loud funny but touching and oh, so true.

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  5. I read Beastly over a year ago. I can usually judge how much I loved a book by whether I decided to keep it (for future re-reads) or gave it away to my sister, who stocks her classroom for high schoolers. The book went to the classroom. If you want a truly amazing Beauty and the Beast re-telling, check out Robin McKinley's Beauty or Rose Daughter. Both of those are beautifully written and well worth reading over and over again.

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  6. Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before is on my infinitely long wishlist. The other two look interesting too.

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  7. K I have Beastly, and started the first chapter, but then I put it down and it disappeared. one of my kittehs stole it, I swear. I have no idea where I put it and it's irking me. justthoughti'dshare kthankx

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  8. Beastly looks SO good!!

    I started Stop Me but I wasn't really impressed with the style...I put it down after a couple of chapters.

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  9. Beastly looks SO good!!

    I started Stop Me but I wasn't really impressed with the style...I put it down after a couple of chapters.

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  10. Good Enough was funny--and I also liked that the ending was unexpected.

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