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Posts Tagged ‘Friendship’

Violet & Claire | Francesca Lia Block

Posted by Jaemi on June 29th, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★★This is the book that started it all for me. A friend recommended I read it, and Francesca Lia Block made an immediate move to the top slot in my favorite authors list, where she’s stayed ever since.

Violet sees life as a movie. There’s always a scene, a mood, something unfolding. Though her own life, sadly, is lacking in some of the necessities for a great script. Conflict. Her parents, who seem to be from a completely different bloodline than she, give her none. And what little she does have isn’t juicy enough. Love interest. Sorely lacking. Anyone who can understand what she wants and where she’s coming from.

Enter Claire. Innocence emboddied, wearing a Tinker Bell shirt with faerie wings, surrounded by taunting peers. Violet decides she’s perfect. Claire, never having fit in, is happy to have a friend. And one who defended her.

Their early adventures are innocent enough. A visit to a transvestite bar. A trip to an underground concert, where Violet finds her love interest in the form of the godly Flint Cassidy. But her unwilling slip into humanity leaves her wounded, when she realizes she fell for an act like any other girl. Determined, she makes the most of it, and takes her script to his agent, who gives her a receptionist job in exchange for helping her with it.

Claire is first excited, soon after worried. Violet comes to school less and less, eventually isn’t there at all. The poetry class they signed up for together also becomes Claire’s alone. As she gets deeper into her relationship with the teacher, Violet isn’t there to listen, or warn her. Claire too finds herself injured and lost.

But even the darkness can’t keep them apart. After all the misunderstandings and apologies gone awry, their friendship prevails. Life in the desert, away from the cruelties of the big city, awaits.

Violet’s portion of the story should appeal to any movie buff. Claire’s to anyone who’s ever felt alien, finding solace mostly in paper and pen. A very quick read, which might or might not keep you up at night to get to see how it turns out, and one of my all time favorites, I highly recommend Violet and Claire to any and all.

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Peter and the Starcatchers | Barry, Pearson

Posted by Jaemi on June 25th, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★☆Ever wonder about the origins of Neverland? How did they all get there? Where did Peter Pan come from? The mermaids, Tinker Bell, the pirates and the Indians…how did they all end up there together? Well, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson did, and this books gives us their ideas.

I think the idea is pretty ingenious. In some ways, things seem slightly easy to foretell, but in other ways, sometimes you’re just riveted, waiting to see how this will all come together. I found the origins of the mermaids and Tink in particular to be pretty clever. And Mr. Grin alone makes it all worth it.

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If you like childhood tales, or re-tellings, this book is definitely for you. I picked it up around the time where I was reading a bunch of old fairy tale re-workings. All of them have been excellent.

Peter and the Starcatchers, is a very unique look at the Peter Pan legend, and a very good one at that. If you’re in the mood for a light book, or a funny one, I’d definitely give this one a look.

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Defining Dulcie | Paul Acampora

Posted by Jaemi on May 31st, 2010 No Comments

Rating: ★★★★½

When Dulcie’s Father accidentally kills himself, it’s a bit of a shock. When her mother decides to move them off to California, it’s more than Dulcie is prepared to take. When she finds out her mother intends to get rid of her father’s truck, she officially draws the line: she takes it and drives herself back to Connecticut.

Upon arrival, she meets not her grandfather, as expected, but a girl she’s never seen before standing in the flowers. Roxanne, who now works for Dulcie’s grandfather, knows exactly who Dulcie is, and that her grandfather has been expecting her.

The welcome isn’t as warm as she had hoped. Turns out taking off and going cross-country as a teen worries your elders. But Frank does agree to let her stay. She even gets her old job back, though as punishment she will receive no pay for the summer. She also has to call her mother. This stipulation is easier to get around: she knows when her mother is going to be at work, and always makes sure to call when she won’t be there.

Back at work as a janitor, Dulcie makes fast friends with Roxanne, whom Frank has somewhat adopted, as it seems she’s not necessarily well taken care of at home. The night Dulcie drops by with her to get fresh clothes on their way to dinner with Dulcie’s suprise-visiting mother, Dulcie finds out just how bad Roxanne’s home life is. This harsh glimpse at events causes a flurry of actions on multiple fronts, which almost lead to disaster.

In the end, Dulcie, who’s always known who she is, gains a greater understanding of relationships, friendships, love, and home. Roxanne, who’s never had it great, adopts Dulcie’s family. While perhaps no one’s ended up quite where they expected, they all know they’ve found their place.

An excellent book, worth reading again (and again).

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Perfect World | Brian James

Posted by Jaemi on May 31st, 2010 No Comments


Rating: ★★★★½ In the world there are many cycles, and sometimes they exist between you and you. The inner commentator never letting you speak, too afraid you’ll only mess things up. The outer prtoector, trying to make you less visible, generally only make you more conspicuous. The friends who aren’t real, but are better than loneliness. The truths buried in closets, because it’s easier for some to pretend they never happened, even if nothing has been the same since, and the damage is still everywhere. Worrying that your haunted past will become your daunting future.

This is Lacie’s world.

Her father’s dead, he mother hides away in endless work, and Lacie is lost between the cracks of herself and a world in which she doesn’t belong. Can’t seem to fit in. Can’t seem to get it right.

Bit by bit, her best friend’s cruelness starts to become more apparent. Forced into agreeing to meet a boy, she soon realizes Benji is just about the only real thing in her life. Except for the ghosts.

Bit by bit, things get harder, and some get easier. Best friend Jenna is lost, but Lacie is found. Her mother begins to slowly come back, she begins to slowly move away. Away from the fake and the meanness she used to emulate. Away toward who she really is, and should be. Away towards Gretchen, returned to town after disappearing for years. Away into a perfect world, in which she does belong.

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