End-of-the-Year Survey – 2015

I enjoy filling out surveys, and I (obviously) love books, so this end-of-the-year survey hosted by Jamie (Perpetual Page Turner) is right up my alley! Read on for my answers :)

Number Of Books You Read: 111 + about 10 manuscripts during my internship (Jan-April)
Number of Re-Reads: 18
Genre You Read The Most From: probably urban fantasy (YA is NOT a category!)

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?
It’s a cross between Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Becky Albertali) and Every Word (Ellie Marney).

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The Bane Chronicles. I mean, I wasn’t really surprised because I haven’t liked the last four Cassandra Clare books I’ve read, but Magnus was always my favourite character.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
When Everything Feels Like the Movies (Raziel Reid) – it got a lot of buzz when it was chosen as one of the finalists for Canada Reads, and that in itself was surprising (in a good way!).

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I’m going to say Every Breath a) because I recommend it on pretty much a monthly basis (technically I read it in 2014, but it was literally the last book I read – I finished it on December 31!) and b) my sister read it and become just as obsessed!

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?
Best series started: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Laini Taylor)
Best sequel: Every Word (Ellie Marney)
Best series ender: The Wondrous and the Wicked (Page Morgan)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?
Susin Nielsen. I read literally all her books (including one that’s not even published yet!) this year.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Unbearable Lightness – Portia de Rossi

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Every Move (Ellie Marney). I could not move while reading it.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Cinder (Marissa Meyer) because I haven’t picked up the rest of the series yet, and I’ll probably have to re-read it before I continue.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath – Ishbelle Bee

11. Most memorable character of 2015?
Nimona – Noelle Stevenson

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?
The Book Thief (Markus Zusack) is gorgeous, but it was a re-read. “New” book that was beautifully written: Magonia (Maria Dahvana Headley)

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?
The Universe Versus Alex Woods – Gavin Extence.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?
Soulless – Gail Carriger. It has so many things I love in it!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

I have seen the aftermath of death, the incredible mechanism of the body laid bare, and I know now that each person is a kind of miracle. A spark nestles like a bird inside our chests, so deep that we can’t find where it lives, but it is everything. It’s what makes us dream and think and feel and laugh and sing. And it is a mystery, and it is mundane, and, above all, it is fragile. Any moment could be our last. – Rachel Watts, Every Word

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?
The shortest (not including picture books or comics) was The Little Prince with 98 pages and the longest was the Complete Blooming Goddess Trilogy (Tallulah Darling) with 1080 pages total (it was all one ebook, so if I was counting individual books, it would be Outlander with 850 pages).

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
The Hollow Boy – Jonathan Stroud. THAT ENDING. I NEED THE NEXT ONE LIKE NOW.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Wattscroft forever!!! Ellie Marney is in charge of writing all the kissing scenes forever.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Flavia and Dogger from Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket!)

21. Best Book You Read In 2015That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
My sister told me repeatedly to read a Gail Carriger novel and I’m SO GLAD I read Soulless (and the sequel, Changeless!).

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
Technically he’s from the end of 2014, but who doesn’t love James Mycroft??

23. Best 2015 debut you read?
Mad Miss Mimic – Sarah Henstra

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Nimona – Noelle Stevenson

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
I flat out sobbed at the end of The Wondrous and the Wicked (Page Morgan).

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Not published in 2015, but I really enjoyed Knightly and Son – Rohan Gavin

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
In terms of being sad, I’d say Why We Broke Up, but if you’re talking about one that beat me down until I finished it, I’d say Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?
Lair of Dreams – Libba Bray

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Anne & Henry – Dawn Ius. I had such high hopes for it because it had such a great concept, but the characters infuriated me.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?
This year was the first year I really paid attention to book blogs and really worked on my own reviews. Some of my favourite blogs include: Pop! Goes the Reader, The Broke and the Bookish, A Reader of Fictions, Snuggly Oranges, Cuddlebuggery, and, of course Perpetual Page Turner, plus a whole lot more! I also have to shout out to all the blogs I follow/who follow me here :)

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?
Probably my Simon vs review or my extensive review for Every Breath/Every Word.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
The post with the most comments was my Top Ten Books of 2015 from a few weeks ago.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I helped out at OLA which was a really interesting experience, but I also got to meet Alan Bradley at Random House which was really cool (he’s such an adorable old man!).

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?
Interning at Tundra was definitely a highlight and I got to work on their blog, which was lots of fun!

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Finding time to write the reviews in between writing for Mind the Gap/idobi!

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Every Word blog tour (most views on one particular day); overall, it was my Blurryface track-by-track review (in terms of views) and top 10 books of 2015 (in terms of comments).

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I’m quite proud of my UK in YA TTT!

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Apart from all the blogs I mentioned earlier, I’ve also really enjoyed Book Riot and the read-iculously cheap Book Outlet.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I set 100 books as my Goodreads challenge and surpassed that goal!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) is going to be the first book I read in 2016.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?
I don’t even know if it will come out in 2016, but I’m salivating for the next Lockwood and Co (Jonathan Stroud) book.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
The Love That Split The World – Emily Henry. It’s been getting a lot of hype and it was the first book to come to mind.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?
I’m really hoping that Every Move will be published in North America next year so I can complete my collection!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?
I’m setting a goal for 120 books, plus one of my resolutions is to read more classics. And my sister and I (and possibly our nine year old niece) are going to do a full Harry Potter re-read which is really exciting.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
The two 2016 books I’ve read so far have been The Serpent King (Jeff Zentner) and Vikki VanSickle’s If I Had a Gryphon (illustrated by Cale Atkinson), both of which I recommend (and will have reviews up in the next couple of months!).

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt is Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015. I’ve narrowed it down to the best books I’ve read this year that were released in 2015 (I read some good ones that are at least a year old!).

Each one is linked to my review (the first three are in order).

1. Every Word – Ellie Marney
2. The Hollow Boy – Jonathan Stroud
3. The Wondrous and the Wicked – Page Morgan
4. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertali
5. Nimona – Noelle Stevenson
6. Mad Miss Mimic – Sarah Henstra
7. The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath / The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl – Ishbelle Bee
8. Dumplin’ – Julie Murphy
9. Library of Souls – Ransom Riggs
10. Alice Takes Back Wonderland – David D. Hammons

BONUS
Here are another five books that I rated 5 interrobangs that weren’t released in 2015 (and that don’t include any re-reads!):

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor (review coming soon!)
2. The Universe Versus Alex Woods – Gavin Extence
3. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen – Susin Nielsen
4. Soulless – Gail Carriger
5. Outlander – Diana Gabaldon

What were your top ten books this year?

ARC Review: A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius – Stacey Matson + GIVEAWAY

A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius – Stacey Matson

Arthur believes that he is destined to become a famously rich novelist. The first step in his journey to literary greatness will be winning the school writing contest, which will also (hopefully) distract him from the untimely death of his mother. Unfortunately, Arthur can’t come up with a good story, unlike his beautiful writing partner Kennedy, who he’s sure will ditch her popular boyfriend and fall in love with him sometime soon. Even Robbie Zack, Arthur’s nemesis, has an idea! As the competition draws closer, and as his father drifts further and further away, how far with Arthur go to win?

Release Date: November 3rd, 2015

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review! And thanks to the kind people (especially Kathryn Lynch) at Sourcebooks for providing a giveaway – head to the bottom of the post for your chance to win a copy (open to Canada and the US until November 30th!).

A few months ago, I went on a Susin Nieslen binge, and this would have been the perfect follow-up!

What I liked:

-I’m a sucker for epistolary books to begin with, which is probably one of the reasons why I requested this. It wasn’t just standard journal entries – there were emails and classroom notes and sometimes cute little drawings. Love it!

-the plot was cute and relatively simple, but it had a lot of heart and there were some sad moments. It had that bittersweet quality that, in my opinion, all good contemporary middle grade fiction should have (hence the Susin Nielsen comparison).

-Arthur was a strong character – you really got a sense of his personality from the very first page (check out the excerpt from chapter one at the end of this post!). And while you don’t know much about his dad, there’s enough to form an understanding of their relationship and how it changed after Arthur’s mom died.

-Arthur’s struggle with writing, in particular his great ideas but inability to put them on the page, really spoke to me as an aspiring writer myself. It was easy to relate to him as he tried to figure out a way to get around his writer’s block in time to enter the school story-writing contest.

-his “love interest” Kennedy and rivalry with Robbie Zack was funny and age-appropriate (I sound so old when I say stuff like that). It was cute and innocent and provided a lot of the humour, including Kennedy’s enthusiastic emails.

What I didn’t like:

-Arthur could be frustrating in his obstinate way. I understood that it was a quirk in his personality and all good characters have flaws, but there were a couple of times when I just wanted to yell at him. Like you would with a normal 13 year old, I suppose.

If you’re looking for a quick but satisfying middle grade read, this is a wonderful option! Stacey Matson’s writing is charming and will draw you right into Arthur’s world.

Rating:

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt from A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius:

The Next Great Bestselling Novel (Title to be announced)

By Arthur Bean

Once upon a time there was

There was once a

A long time ago

Yesterday

Today

America is awesome! This is because

A boy and his unicorn sat on the grass and the unicorn could talk and said

Murder! There’s been a very violent murder!

Dear Ms. Whitehead,

As you know, I haven’t been in class yet, but my next-door neighbor Nicole suggested that I write you a letter since I will be starting soon. I don’t really know what to write to you. Maybe I will tell you a little about myself so that you feel like I started school at the same time as everyone else.

My name is Arthur Aaron Bean, but I normally just go by Arthur. I spent the summer at my grandparents’ house in Balzac. It was a long summer. I actually live in one of the apartment buildings pretty close to the school. I like to knit and watch movies, sometimes at the same time. I’m a very good multi-tasker. I like creative writing, so I hope that we will do that and that I didn’t miss it. I was probably the best writer in my elementary school, and I plan on getting rich as a novelist when I’m a grown-up. I don’t have any siblings, but my cousin Luke is kind of like my twin brother.

My most profound work so far is the heartwarming story called “Sockland.” In this short story, a little boy climbs into the dryer during a game of hide-and-seek with his older brothers. He is accidentally shrunk and crawls through the dryer vent into Sockland. Sockland is a land where missing socks go to live. He enjoys it for a while, but then finds that single socks are very boring, and needs to find a way to get home. He then gets the socks to help him by promising to send their partners through the tunnel, and he crawls back up into the dryer to rejoin humanland.

Mrs. Lewis said it was highly original and that I showed real promise in becoming the next J.K. Rowling. The secretary told me that I’m in a class with some of the people from my elementary school so that I would feel more comfortable. Actually, she didn’t say people, she said some of my friends. This may seem weird, because I wasn’t really friends with a lot of the people in my elementary school. Actually, most of my friends went to the Catholic school next door to our school, and so I saw them all the time. I did have a couple of friends like Oliver, but mostly I wasn’t friends with people in my elementary school class. Besides, who would want to be friends with guys like Robbie Zack? I’m not friends with people who spell thoughts as thots. Good luck with that one. He’s what my mother called “a handful of trouble with a capital T.”

Yours truly,

Arthur Bean

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt is Ten Characters Who Are Fellow Book Nerds. A couple of these characters are more “word nerds” (or writers) than “book nerds”, but I think all book nerds have an appreciation for words in general.

1) Matilda from Roald Dahl’s Matilda
2) Daphne de Luce from Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series
3) Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series
4) Catherine Morland from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey
5) Sadie from Sara O’Leary/Julie Morstad’s This is Sadie
6) Vander Burke from Page Morgan’s The Dispossessed series
7) Liesel Meminger from Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief

Word Nerds/Writers
8) Ambrose Bukowski from Susin Nielsen’s Word Nerd
9) Mia Thermopolis from Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries series
10) Lydia Jaackson-Oberman from Jaclyn Moriarty’s The Year of Secret Assignments

Those were the ones I could think of, though I’m sure I’m missing someone obvious. Who made it onto your lists?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt is Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far In 2015. I’ve read a lot of great books so far this year, so it was hard to pick 10, but here we go (as always, it’s not in any particular order). Most are linked to my reviews, but the Ellie Marney ones link to Goodreads.

1) Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertali
2) Nimona – Noelle Stevenson
3) The Lovely and the Lost – Page Morgan
4) The Wondrous and the Wicked – Page Morgan
5) Every Word – Ellie Marney
6) Every Move – Ellie Marney
7) Mad Miss Mimic – Sarah Henstra
8) The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches – Alan Bradley
9) The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen – Susin Nielsen
10) The Little Prince – Antoine de St-Euxpéry

What are some of your favourite books that you’ve read in 2015 (so far)?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who…Have Great Sibling Relationships

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt was: Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who _____ (are musically inclined, have lost someone, have depression, who grow up poor, etc.)

I stared at my bookshelves all weekend until a random thought popped into my head: a YA protagonist is often an only child. Sometimes they have siblings, but if they do, most of the time those siblings are tragically killed/sacrificed/missing for half the novel or are kept secret until the BIG CLIMACTIC SCENE (I’m not mocking the “secret sibling” plot line, I’m totally guilty of doing it in my own writing). So, as the youngest of four children myself, I thought I’d look at books where the characters have siblings who play an important role. Because family is important.

1) The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June – Robin Benway

First of all – heck yeah to the Oxford (or serial) comma in the title. This is my second favourite Robin Benway book, and I absolutely love the relationships between these three very different sisters. May is my preferred sister because she’s sassy/snarky, but the other two have their own sass-filled moments too.

2) A Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket

Obviously the Baudelaire orphans are on this list. They’re loyal and supportive and genuinely loving toward each other. Even when they have moments of frustration, they would never think of betraying/leaving each other. They’re the true definition of “ohana” (nobody gets left behind or forgotten).

3) Every series – Ellie Marney

Come for the ridiculous chemistry between Rachel Watts and James Mycroft, stay for the best brother-sister relationship ever between Rachel and Mike. Mike quickly became one of my favourite secondary characters; he constantly has Rachel’s back, even when he thinks she’s about to do something stupid/crazy (i.e. when she flies to London in Every Word). He’s also great comedic relief and you can’t help getting attached to him.

4) The Dispossessed series – Page Morgan

Okay, fine, I’m more than a little obsessed with this series right now, but since it revolves around twins (Grayson and Ingrid), and their younger sister (Gabby), it makes sense for them to be on this list. The relationship between Grayson and Ingrid is the reason I cried while reading the third book.

5) Flavia de Luce series – Alan Bradley

I’ve read the first three books so far (I’m working on the fourth), and Flavia’s relationship with her older sisters (Ophelia and Daphne) is the stuff of legends. While Feely and Daffy tend to be absolutely horrid and Flavia spends a lot of time plotting her revenge, there’s still a certain amount of love behind all their actions. Plus they’re just hilarious in general.

6) Vampirates series – Justin Somper

I realize that saying “vampire pirates” makes people go “WHAAAAT?” but seriously, this was such a good series. Again, it focused on twins – Connor and Grace – who, even though they are separated for at least the first book (I can’t remember when they meet up again), their affection for each other literally spans across the seas.

7) Sisterhood series – Ann Brashares

On the one hand, these books are about the bonds of friendship. On the other, if Lena didn’t have a slightly jealous younger sister (Effie), the last half of the fourth book would not have happened. It’s also interesting to see how Lena interacts with her sister-like friends compared to her relationship with Effie (sometimes you feel sorry for Effie, who was often pushed aside in favour of Bridget/Carmen/Tibby).

8) The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen – Susin Nielsen

Technically this falls into the “sibling who tragically dies” category, but since the plot is based on Jessie’s death, it’s fascinating (and so sad) to see how his actions affected his younger brother, Henry. I’ve now read all of Susin Nielsen’s books, and I’d have to say this one is my favourite. It’s also the most emotionally draining.

9) The Two Princesses of Bamarre – Gail Carson Levine

I desperately need to re-read this one (my niece just read it for the first time and every time she mentioned it, I was like “AWW, SUCH A GOOD BOOK”), but Addie and Meryl’s dependence on each other is so sweet, especially once Meryl gets sick. I remember being heartbroken near the end, but it all wrapped up so beautifully. They were like the original Anna and Elsa – self-sacrificing and all.

10) Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling

Did you really think I could make a list like this and not mention the Weasleys? They’re one of the best fictional families to ever exist!! And while they may have their own problems (i.e. lack of money), they were nothing but loving toward each other (for the most part…*cough PERCY cough*) and always made sure to include Harry. I love how in later books, the boys all recognize that Ginny is more powerful/talented than they are, but they continue to treat her like their baby sister.

My biggest issue with the movies is that we never see Charlie Weasley :(

BONUS:

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Because the Bennet sisters are surprisingly well-rounded, considering most of them are supporting characters.

Lydia, Kitty, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary

Who makes it on your list of favourite fictional siblings?

Fiction Friday Round-Up – February 27th, 2015

I’ve done something different this week!

Instead of smooshing together every book I’ve read over the past week and a half into one very long post, I’ve created this master list/round-up.

• The Bane Chronicles – Cassandra Clare (with Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan): “Basically, it felt like I was reading fanfiction. Mediocre fanfiction that you find on some sketchy site because you miss the characters so much that you’re willing to read anything, as long as they’re doing something again.”
• Going Rogue – Robin Benway: “…there may have been some plot holes and I was a smidge confused about the mystery at first, plus the characters haven’t changed much since my initial impression of them, but it was a very quick, fun read.”
• The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “For one, I totally related to The Little Prince: grown-ups are strange.”
• Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom – Susin Nielsen: “This has a bit of The Parent Trap-feel to it, but it wasn’t the old “get Mom and Dad back together” trope. The fact that Violet thinks GEORGE CLOONEY is the perfect option is hilarious and amazing and I totally believe she met him.”

Thanks for reading! Don’t know how many books I’ll get through this upcoming week, but maybe I’ll make this a regular thing? (Sidenote: apologies to anyone who receives email notifications when I post stuff…I didn’t mean to takeover your inboxes!).

Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom – Susin Nielsen

Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom – Susin Nielsen

Violet’s TV-director dad has traded a job in Vancouver for one in Los Angeles, their run-down house for a sleek ranch-style home complete with a pool, and, worst of all, Violet’s mother for a trophy wife, a blonde actress named Jennica. Violet’s younger sister reacts by bed-wetting, and her mother ping-pongs from one loser to another, searching for love. As for Violet, she gets angry in ways that are by turns infuriating, shocking, and hilarious.

When her mother takes up with the unfortunately named Dudley Wiener, Violet and her friend Phoebe decide that they need to take control. If Violet’s mom can’t pick a decent man herself, they will help her snag George Clooney.

So a few weeks ago, I was really into Susin Nielsen, right? Well, that train’s not slowing down anytime soon. I’m addicted (and now I’ve read literally everything she’s written, including a brand new manuscript, so I’m not sure what else I have to look for, unless I go hunting for her Degrassi novels?).

Of all her books, this was probably my least favourite, which is not to say I didn’t love it. I just like the nerdiness of Word Nerd, and the powerful message behind Henry K. Larsen a little bit more.

Violet is sassy and funny, while still being “real” and emotional. The opening scene has her tricking her half-sisters into eating…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it involves cats and sandboxes-that-have-been-used-as-litterboxes. Disgusting and devious, but also pretty ingenious.

I think it was also realistic in terms of how the girls behaved in school, given their age (12). The mean girls, Ashley and Lauren, act exactly the way girls do at 12-13. Violet and Phoebe’s reactions are on point, and there’s never a feeling of “seriously, what real seventh grader would do this?”.

Sidenote: Ashley co-stars in Susin’s upcoming book, We Are All Made of Molecules, which comes out in May!

This has a bit of The Parent Trap-feel to it, but it wasn’t the old “get Mom and Dad back together” trope. The fact that Violet thinks GEORGE CLOONEY is the perfect option is hilarious and amazing and I totally believe she met him.

Also: Cosmo, Amanda, and Ambrose (from Word Nerd) all make a reappearance (and Karen, from Henry K. Larsen). I aww’d forever. Seriously, I love that all her characters are somehow connected.

Word Nerd // The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen – Susin Nielsen

Can someone please explain to me how I managed to live for 24.5 years without reading a Susin Nielsen book? Like, I realize it’s been a while since I was actually in the middle grade range, but when has that ever stopped me from reading a good MG novel? Never, that’s when.

Anyway, I read two of Susin’s books this week and I loved both of them.

Word Nerd

Ambrose is a twelve-year-old, self-described nerd with an overprotective mother. Despite his mother’s warnings, he strikes up an unlikely friendship with their landlords’ ex-con son, Cosmo, through a shared love of Scrabble: Ambrolse learned to play with is mother, Cosmo learned to play in prison.

In this brilliantly observed novel, author Susin Nielsen transports the reader to the world of competitive Scrabble as seen from the honest yet funny viewpoint of a boy who’s searching for acceptance and for a place to call home.

I’m not a fantastic Scrabble player, but after reading this, I want to lug my Scrabble board out of my closet and just play forever or at least until I’m as good as Ambrose (which could probably take forever).

It’s written from Ambrose’s perspective; I’m not sure how Susin does it, but she manages to capture the voice of a twelve-year-old boy pretty much perfectly (or, at least, she portrays him the way I imagine a twelve-year-old boy would behave, since I’ve never been a boy). He’s funny and quirky and a genuinely engaging narrator. You have to feel for the guy sometimes, with his somewhat overbearing mother, and his friendship with Cosmo is really sweet.

I just realized how I’ve been picturing them:

Except Cosmo thankfully doesn’t end up with Ambrose’s mom (it would have been weird). Plus, I liked how charming Cosmo became once he met Amanda.

When the protagonist almost dies in the first chapter after being fed a peanut by the school bully, you know you’re in for a good time. Word Nerd did not disappoint.

The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen

Thirteen-year-old Henry’s happy, ordinary life comes to an abrupt halt when his older brother, Jesse, picks up their father’s hunting rifle and leaves the house one morning. What follows shatters Henry’s family, who are forced to resume their lives in a new city, where no one knows their past. When Henry’s therapist suggests he keeps a journal, at first he is resistant. But soon he confides in it at all hours of the day and night.

Darker than her previous novels, Susin peoples this novel about the ultimate cost of bullying with a cast of fabulous characters, dark humour, and a lovable, difficult protagonist struggling to come to terms with the horrible crime his brother has committed.

I keep saying this, but it deserves repeating: the next time someone tries to argue that MG/YA novels don’t deal with “important issues”, I’m going to throw a copy of this book in their face.

Not only does it deal with suicide as a result of bullying, but it also touches on school shootings and the aftermath, especially for the victims’ families. It was inspired by an article Susin read about the Columbine shootings; it’s also reminiscent of that really sad One Tree Hill episode (you know the one I’m talking about).

This was a powerful and poignant read. Henry’s feelings are so well described, I actually felt emotional when he finally revealed what Jesse had done. The events leading up to Jesse’s decision to take the gun to school are horrifying and, sadly, representative of the type of bullying kids these days really do experience. You genuinely feel sorry for the Larsen family and, like Henry, you can’t help but wish you could go back and change the outcome.

I don’t know how many other MG novels talk about school shootings or suicide, but I think it’s a really important discussion to have – the earlier the better.

On a happier note, Susin is one of those authors who mentions characters from previous novels: in this case, Ambrose (from Word Nerd) pops up in a cute cameo appearance. I love it when authors build worlds like this, don’t you?