The To Read Shelf Challenge: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Title:  Why We Broke Up 
#150 of 158 on the Too Read Shelf
By Daniel Handler and Maria Kalman

I feel really bad about this, but I couldn't finish this book.  It's a Printz Honor!  It's illustrated!  It's an award winner teens would actually want to read!  I should be supporting it.

This is a total, "It's not you, it's me" situation.   I am not a Daniel Handler fan.  I found the Series of Unfortunate Events too precious and repetitive.  And, I found this book to be more of the same.

The book is one long letter, written by Min, a drama girl, to Ed a brainy jock, after their big split.  It tells the story of their relationship and of course, why it ended.   Problem was, I didn't like either of these people very much, so spending time with them was a chore.

When a book becomes a chore, I put it down.

This book has many passionate fans.  I can see the appeal.  Handler gives this temporary relationship all the drama and gravitas a real-live teen would.  Kalman's illustrations are charming.   But, Min is a manic pixie dream girl of the highest degree, and I didn't care about her enough to see her story to the end.

Books I Didn't Finish: Record Collecting for Girls by Courtney E. Smith.

Total Finished: 97 out of 240 pages

So, Why Didn't You Finish It?  

But how much thought have you given to what your music choices say about you to other people?  Boys who love records (and let's face it, at some point we will al date a boy who is a little too into his records) are totally obsessing on what music you like when they meet you.  They're using it to figure out how crazy you are before they get involved (so hide your Tori Amos records).

 Record Collecting for Girls, page 97

It's not often I can pinpoint the line that makes me quit a book in disgust.

I know that it can be tough to be a girl who is into music, either as a musician or a fan. So, I was hoping that this book would be a great resource for the "music nerds" among my teen patrons.

Well, this book isn't about girls, it's about boys.  More specifically, it's about finding boys to date by pretending you 1) like the same music they like and 2) hiding that you may know more about music than they do.    This is insulting and sexist.  Other commenters have pointed out that Smith is incredibly hetero-normative and focused on white rock bands.  I also see this.

(And, just in case any girls are reading this -- any boy who won't date you because you listen to Tori Amos is not worth dating. This goes for guys too -- I married my husband dispite his love of Steely Dan.  )

To be fair, Smith knows a lot about music, and has some interesting things to say about the lack of "serious" female artists in the mainstream.  But she is incredibly dismissive of anybody who doesn't share her indie-rock tastes.  It's more than a little ironic that a woman who can claim to love the Twilight books spends half a chapter dissing "Teenage" music.

Smith's obsession with cool and making sure that you like the music that will get you laid is off-putting and boring.  I have better things to read about.

Dissenting Opinions? 
Miss A
Nylon
Chicks Dig Books

Books I Didn't Finish: Bumped by Megan McCaffrerty

Total Finished:   78 out of 244 pages.

So, Why Couldn't You Finish It?

In the near future, infertility has struck everyone over the age of 18.  Because of this, teen girls are encouraged to "bump" -- get pregnant.  Recently reuinited 16 year old twins, Melody and Harmony go about this in very different ways.  Harmony, raised on a religious commune, is preparing herself for wife and motherhood.  Melody, raised by hyper-perfectionist parents, has "gone pro" and sold her fertility to the highest bidder.

There is something here -- the idea of teen pregnancy being a desirable state, and the commodification of teen fertility -- these both have great narrative potential.

However,  McCafferty's writing does nothing for me.  The jargon of her dystopia is artificial and cloying, and instead of creating a world, pulled me out of it.  More pressingly, Harmony and Melody are flat out annoying, and not interesting enough to compensate for it.  Throw in a crush on a "perfect" guy by the religious girl, and the refusal of the "perfect" girl to realize that she's crazy about her best friend...  I'm done.

Dissenting opinions?  
Publisher's Weekly
 Good Golly Miss Holly 
Write Meg

Final Word:   Annoying and trite pretty much spells the end of a book for me.  I have too much other stuff to read....

Books I Didn't Finish: Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Note: This not-a-review contains spoilers.  They are blacked out.  To read them, highlight the text in black. 

Total Finished:  25% (my e-reader doesn't always do page counts, but it did tell me 25%) 

So, why didn't you finish it? 

Trella is a scrub, she lives in an overcrowded, over controlled area, known as inside.  Trella's position as a duct cleaner gives her access to areas scrubs don't usually get to go, and her best friend gets her involved with a "prophet" preaching of "Outside".  Which gets her in trouble with the powers that be. 

Trella's life is boring.  She cleans duct work.  And describes it, seemingly endlessly.  Duct work is boring. Add in an overly complicated time system and flat characters, and the fact that nobody can figure out that they're on a freakin' spaceship, and my interest was gone. 

Dissenting Opinions? Always. 

 Blogcritics.org 

ReadingTeen.net

Final Word:  There are better "girl-takes-on-the-dystopic-world" books out there.  

Books I Couldn't Finish: Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Total Pages: 86 out of 505

Why Didn't You Finish It:  As much as I hate to admit it, this book was too gross for me. 

Look, I'm a big girl, I don't expect a book about serial killing sisters to be all sweetness and light.  Gore comes with the subject.

Reeves is a great writer, her characters are interesting, Portero is a great setting.  However, when the two sisters eviscerate a man and leave him, alive, and watch while animals eat his entrails.... I'm done. 

What?  I read at lunch a lot.

Dissenting Opinions? As always

Page Turners
Bookalicio.us
Novel Thoughts

Bottom Line:  This book is a good read for the strong of stomach stomach and the open of mind.  While I have plenty of the latter, I failed to measure up on the former.

Books I Couldn't Finish: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Total Pages: 94 out of 299

So, Why Didn't You Finish It?  Gemma is kidnapped out of an airport by Ty, and taken to BFE Australia to live in the hot, red land.

It's hot, and red.  Ty's a monster.  But he's not.  But he is.  And it's hot.  And red.  Gemma tries to escape.  It doesn't work.  Its too hot.  And maybe too red.   And Ty's a creep.  But he's not.  But he is.  Gemma wants to get away.  But she can't.  Because it's hot, and red.   Did I mention it was hot?  And red?

Nothing happens!  Except it's hot.  And red.

Theres no plot, no character development, no nothing.  Just heat.  And redness.



Dissenting Opinions?  But of course.

Kids Lit 
Bookalicio.us
2011 Printz Honor Books

The Bottom Line:  This book is unique for being written in the second person, and Christopher's descriptions of the hot, red land are beautiful, but ultimately, this book is just plain boring.

Books I Didn't Finish: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Total Page Count:  ~200 of 441 pages

Why Didn't You Finish It?:  This book has a killer concept -- in the future, love is a disease.  At 18 everybody gets a "procedure" that will cure them of Amor Deliria Nervosa.  Of course the procedure robs them of most other emotions and the ability to question the government.

Pretties, The Giver, The Cure, Bar Code Tattoo -- all of these books have covered similar ground.  And done it in less than 441 pages! 

Dissenting opinions? Sure.
The Compulsive Reader
Dreaming in Books
Reading Rants


The Bottom Line: While Oliver writes beautifully, it just takes her too long to get where she's going for me. A skillful world building and a clever concept doesn't make up for pages and pages of a wishy-washy heroine being wishy-washy.

Books I Couldn't Finish: The Freak Observer

Total Page Count: 63 pages.

Why didn't you finish it:  Nothing happens!  It's all a sad girl, being sad.  Beautiful and sad.  Sad on the bus.  Sad at home.  Sad. Sad. Sad.  Dead sister. Dead friend.  Sad.

Dissenting Opinion?s: Oh, Yeah.
A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy 
Stacked
ALA Morris Award 

So, what's your verdict?:  Navel Gazing Emo B.S.