"Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell

It's official, I love Rainbow Rowell! Cath is beginning her first year of college, though she isn't really looking forward to it. Her sister, Wren, is ready for the new challenge of being away from home, but Cath isn't nearly as social or into changes. She would much rather spend her time working on her fan fiction novel, Carry On, Simon Snow, based on the popular Simon Snow book series. Fangirl follows Cath through her first year of college and the ups and downs of dorm life, making new friends, adjusting to the changing relationship with her twin and the difficulties her father is going through that began when her mother left but have intensified since the girls have gone off to school.

This book was excellent. Something that I really enjoyed was that it wasn't structured in such a way where the characters simply went from Point A to Point B and that was the end of the book. There were many layers to this novel and several plot lines, but Rowell wrote it in such a way that it worked and kept me interested. Real life doesn't follow a predicable timeline where everything falls into place at the right time and neither did this book, something I appreciated. I really felt for Cath as she goes through the struggles of starting over in a new place and figuring out how to adapt. The only part of this novel I wasn't particularly a fan of was the excerpts from the Simon Snow novels and Cath's fan fiction. The only reason for this is that I'm that interested in that genre, so it says nothing about the writing. Rowell has created wonderful characters and I wouldn't mind seeing more in this universe. This book is yet another must read!



Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Ten Kids, No Pets" by Ann M. Martin

As a kid, Ten Kids, No Pets was one of my favorites by Ann M. Martin.  Something about ten siblings spending a year trying to convince their parents that they need a pet and then finally finding a loophole to the rule that "ten kids enough" just delighted me.  For some reason it became my personal tradition to read this book the night before Thanksgiving.  I stuck with this ritual for quite some time and it was really nice to go back and get reacquainted with the Rosso family.

The Rosso children are used to order and organization.  Named alphabetically from Abigail to Janthina, they know how to keep life from becoming too crazy (no easy feat in a family with 10 kids), but when they move from New York City to the country, they try to throw a little crazy into their lives be asking (and asking) for a family pet.  But their mother continues to insist that they do not need said pet.  Each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the children and follows them over the course of a year.  As the reader, we get to see Jan's impatience while waiting for Santa, Dagwood's mishaps when planning a Halloween party, and Calandra's desperation to find a place of her own. This is the kind of book that I think is excellent for beginning readers or a book to read a chapter a day.  There isn't a lot of suspense and each chapter wraps up nicely before going onto the next.  It seems that this book is out of print (I ended up getting my copy at a library book sale) so it may be difficult to get your hands on a copy, but if you come across it I highly recommend it!

Happy Reading!
-Melly