Place your bets -

STEP ONE: THE PLAYING FIELD

---> Books #1-8 as taken from the Wishlist.

STEP TWO: THE POT

---> Stir thoroughly.

STEP THREE: THE WINNERS

I thought it would be a good idea to pull three instead of four to ensure that the winning book does so by more than one vote; it all depends on how many people voice their opinions. We'll see how it goes and change it if we need to, okay?

Polling stations are open as of NOW and will remain so until the end of Saturday, December 3rd.

Vote now! Vote once! Click on the title to find out more about the books.

Clarification

Now that the Hedgehog wish list is going strong, how are we going to use our powers for good?

In other words, how can we choose the January book? (January?! We've been around for a year now!) Pick a random sampling from the list -- maybe, four books? -- and vote on those? Take the two highest voted books and have those for the next two months?

That's what came to my mind. If you have another idea or agree with this one, please insert your assent/dissent here.

Have a delightful Thanksgiving!

Ladies! It's that time again!

Le Club de Geographie

Okay, I'll start.

I found this book enjoyable. Somewhat. To a point. Kinda.

I found the premise pretty interesting. A gay guy who thinks he's all alone. A group of pretty likeable gay/bisexual high schoolers who want a support group. The dynamics of high school (and you couldn't pay me to go back there).

But the book was just trying too hard for me. I don't mind that Russel is telling us the story—although truthfully I find that a little tired—but there were things that just seemed to be forced. "That's the principal, in case you don't remember." etc etc. He was too cutesy, too geeky but hip-geek, too cheeky with the reader, too I-don't-know-but-it-started-to-bug.

Things happened a little too quickly, without me as the reader seeing enough of the build-up or background. Russel's relationship with Kevin—I had no idea if they had met just that one night at the stinky picnic gazebo or every single night for weeks. I knew that Russel really liked Kevin, but I wasn't sure what was between them and how intimate—emotionally, physically—they had gotten. I wasn't too sure about Kevin in general. What was he really like? He seemed too stereotypical in the two faces he had—sweet when he was alone, a jerk when he was with "the guys." Also, when Russel admits to Brian Bund that he really is gay, I thought Russel was a little too comfortable with that. I didn't get the feeling that he was ready to be out, even if only to one person who was a social outcast.

I was also bothered how the book went to so much trouble to "foreshadow" the bad things that were going to happen. We were hit on the head with it, with the "and I didn't know how bad it would get" kind of idea. It's like we were set up for the fall, and then it happened in small annoying increments (the first time it was the article in the school newspaper, which didn't seem that bad). But the drama in the narrative was too much for me. And if that was because it was Russel saying it, then it's a little too stereotypical (gay drama queen) for me.

I liked that Hartinger picked geography for the club, given what he said about that on his website (the landscape of social groups in high school, all the different "lands"). But I did get a little sick of how everything fit so neatly. All the talk about the "Borderlands of Respectability" and the "Land of the Popular" and so on. I get it. Don't spell it out for me too much.

I picked up volume three of Michael Cart's Rush Hour (called Faces), and Hartinger has a story in there (I think it might be an excerpt, not a short story). I wasn't able to finish it, but it seemed very different from this narrative voice. Wasn't trying as hard. Has anyone read that or anything else by Hartinger?

So I have to say I wasn't overly impressed. Yeah, it's a good idea, and we need more literature out there addressing gay teens, but I just didn't think it was terribly well written. A fine effort, especially for a first novel, but I wasn't bowled over.

Thoughts?

Igor, go fetch --

Brent Hartinger has quite a website!

The little photos to the left of the column ("inside" the lobes) are hilarious, plus read the bottom of the Where I'm Going lobe.

He's also got a LiveJournal.

Bookslut covers his books (including Geography Club and the sequel The Order of the Poison Oak) here.

*** Just to share my pain, my sad local library "system" has three copies of The Order of the Poison Oak. This sounds good, but someone please explain why they have NO copies of Geography Club and my book had to come from a university library three and a half hours away!

Coupla Questions

1. It is November. The year is almost over. We've done the book club thing for almost a year now. Do you want to keep it going? I do, but I understand if people want to drop out. I think what we are doing already, with people participating when they can, works fine. But do please speak up.

If yes, then:

1.a. Should we invite more members or are you fine with the people we have?

1.b. Do you want to have a theme for each/some month(s) (award books, sex, books from other countries, drugs, etc.) or keep it random and free-flowing?

1.c. Do you want to pick all the books out for the YEAR at once or vote monthly/bimonthy?

2. Furthermore, if your answer to question one (1) is, "YES, DAMMIT!" then would you be open to a project? No grades, no percentages (and you will get a sticker and/or gold star for participating) and you get a head start.

THE PROJECT:
Sometime (or multiple times) during the months of November and December get ye into a bookstore, library or some other printed word source (online, etc.) and BROWSE the Teen/Young Adult/Children's section. Jot down (doesn't that sound fun -- jotting?) 3-5 titles (including authors) that make you go, "Hmmm. That looks mighty fascinating!" (NOTE: Don't say this aloud unless you want the bookstore employees talking about you.)

Don't worry about other people having read it before*** or the Literary Quality of the book; just find something you'd like to read! (Bonus points for books that are in paperback and therefore more easily picked up.)

In early January, if ye be willing to be reading, we'll have a hoo-ha and figure out what to do with the suggestions (dependent on 1.b. and 1.c..)

Sound good?

***Okay, I don't completely mean that. Don't pick something like Charlotte's Web or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In fact, avoid Classics. Try to stick to something more recent and, dare I add, Cutting Edge.

Feedback?

Cast your opinon here --

RS

Roger Sutton over at the Horn Book has a (great) blog! It is called Read Roger.

So B. It

I suggested it; I'll start it.

First of all, I liked Heidi. She's smart without knowing it, and sensitive and logical, but almost friendless. It's an appealing innocence and purity mixed with an unusual self-confidence. Heidi is admirable.

I also enjoyed the writing. Words were chosen carefully. There was foreshadowing and imagery. Everything I read had a purpose; there was no filler. I especially liked how Heidi would hear soof wherever she went.

Probably the least noticeable but most pleasant thing about the book is that none of the characters annoyed me. This happens more than it should. It seems like the popular thing to do lately in both books and TV is to create quirky characters. Most of the time, the quirky is fun and interesting, but sometimes it's taken too far. Too much quirky becomes cliche.

It was simple, entertaining, and meaningful. I really enjoyed it. I think it's the best book we've read so far.

Next Focus --

Here are hyperlinked titles to check out:

+ Autobiography of My Dead Brother
+ Geography Club
+ Looking for Alaska
+ Popular Music from Vittula
+ Walter Canis Inflatus : Walter the Farting Dog, Latin-Language Edition

Please vote for two! Vote now! November is almost here!

Might as well, to be official -

YAWP!

Meera, if you like, you can comment on A Great and Terrible Beauty on Libba Bray's LiveJournal. She's got quite a following.

I was going to put up a poll but I think I know what the ratings would be...

The main point of this post was to solicit suggestions for November. How about something that is about a male main character?

Discussion for So B. It begins the 15th! Sarah Weeks, the author, has a website.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

It seems no one else has read the book yet so I'll jump in with some commentary.

I seem to say this about everything we read but -- generally I liked the book, but there were also some glaring FIRST NOVEL!!! errors in my eyes, enough so that I may not care to read the sequel, Rebel Angels.

Gemma's sense of humor is hilarious. But that is also part of my problem with the story -- Gemma's personality and sense of humor is modern. I'm all for "girls who do things," as Robin McKinley says, but this sounded like a bunch of high school girls from down the street dressed up in Victorian clothing, mouthing 21st century ideals. This isn't a bad thing in itself, and I can usually overlook it in books, but it distracted me, brought me out of the narrative. That is BAD.

Bray did an excellent job capturing the power struggles of the girls within their friendships, and their especial cruelty, as in the escapade with Pippa's new gloves and who gets to wear them. Later on, despite herself, Gemma is glad when Felicity chooses to stay instead of walking to Pippa. We want friends, we want to be chosen.

THE REALM.
First, that's a dumb name. I'm sorry; it's just stupid sounding. Better to call it Virtual Reality World! Motto: Why would you ever leave? The girls get addicted to it. Power corrupts... And the whole transference of power that allows them to bring it out of the REALM is never explained. It is instantaneous, too easily achieved and used recklessly. It was not earned. This is cheating and stinks of juvenile wish-fulfillment and a cop-out on the behalf of the author.

I don't know if it's because A Great and Terrible Beauty is a first novel (though the author has written plays and short stories) (those are different creatures) or just a miss on the editor's judgement, but the obvious leadup to Gemma's noticing the missing photo (pg 326 in my TPB) was HORRIBLE. Don't spell things out! Don't TELL the reader; show them! Gemma goes on and on about noticing smudgy bits on the walls: "Funny how I never noticed that before," "So much I haven't noticed," "But it's a night for seeing things for the first time." Awkward, creaky and OBVIOUS. Get it over with and notice the missing photo already!

There is a lack of orginality in some of the plot twists. Mary Dowd is Gemma's mum?! No way! The cool teacher is dismissed?! Bastards!

My final criticism is on the poor blocking of the scenes with the monster/Circe?/mother? at the end. I don't understand what happened or how they escaped. Overall, it was obviously set up for a sequel (series?). I don't know. Maybe it's just overkill of the "We are girls with magic powers and we kick ass and look cute at the same time! Yay!" and there seems to be so much of that out there right now.

Eunice, didn't you do a paper in YA about secrets? I kept thinking back to that all through this book -- how secrets are powerful.

PS - The girls' meeting in a cave SO reminded me of Dead Poets Society.

SE Hinton Interview on the NYTimes

"An Outsider, out of the Shadows"

Did you know S.E. stands for Susan Eloise? Such a Soc name.

The Outsiders movie is being re-released, in a new director's cut that is supposed to be truer to the book. (and if you haven't read the book or evor seen the movie, there is a MAJOR spoiler in the above article, so beware!)

Stay gold, guys, stay gold.

yay

Mr. Hiaasen is about to set his second kid-friendly book loose upon the masses.

I'm not intending to read it - don't need more tales of environmentally-minded children in Florida trying to thwart a wrong (casino boat operator dumping sewage into the ocean) being done. Foibles. Nutty-but-lovable characters. Etc.

But don't let me stop you.

Another book I'm not planning to read (this is a cheering post!) is the new Pigeon book. Really -- isn't it an established GIVEN he likes things that go, such as busses?

I understand people are clamoring for more pigeon books, but I think the originality was spent in the first and any follow-ups are going to be disappointing.

And let ye opinions be made known!

I really enjoyed reading Bound. Embarrassingly, the Cinderella light bulb didn't go on for me until maybe halfway through the book. Maybe even two-thirds of the way through. I doubt that was the case for the rest of you -- even the Evil Stepmother didn't clue me in.

Before you comment on my blindness, please know I thought the story would focus on foot-binding, and kept waiting for the part when Xing Xing's feet would be tied up. Ah, Sarah, there are more ways of being bound.

Did Xing Xing seem younger than 14 to you?

I loved the poetic bits and found the lyrical style evocative of Xing Xing's world.

But what happened at the end? Mr Suave Prince sweeps Xing Xing off her feet? What? It seemed forced and unconvincing, like all of a sudden she was a different person. Did Napoli end it that way just to keep the Cinderella tale complete?

Put your word here - Please vote for TWO (2) books -- the other will be for October

LAST CALL - VOTE THURSDAY!

September Hedgehog Rumpus Book Club Book Ideas?
One suggestion: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray; it is her first book. She combines a bit of fantasy (just a bit, Susan!) with a Victorian-era setting and some Gothic touches. And I love boarding school stories.

Also, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. She's gained a lot of popularity in the past few years and I'm curious to see if she's any good.

What else?

I have the Trina one -

Unfortunate Children's Books.

Thanks, Dana!

FLB

Nerve.com posted an interview with Francesca Lia Block.

She kinda looks like Anjelica Huston on heroin.