Nothing by Janne Teller

OOO

"Nothing matters."
"Life isn't worth the bother."
These are the things the 7th graders of Taering, Denmark, hear every day on their way to school. They are shouted at by a classmate, Pierre Anthon, who one day decided to leave school and sit in the plum tree to become a part of nothing. Nothing is their story. As he sits in his plum tree, Pierre Anthon hurls unripened plums and insults at the students as they walk by. Finally, they get sick of it and decide to prove to him that there are things in this world that matter. What better way than to collect these things? What starts as a seemingly harmless "game" slowly turns into something much graver as the objects the students demand from each other grow in value and... meaning? Has this defiance toward a classmate gotten far too out of control?

I must admit that writing a review for this book is difficult. While it was very disturbing and quite strange, it was wonderfully written and left me thinking about it for a long time. It is written from the viewpoint of one of the students, Agnes, and her confusion over the whole matter, as well as her desperation to prove Pierre Anthon wrong, was felt intensely throughout the entire novel. Overall, while I would not suggest it for middle school students at all, I do feel this book can teach a very good lesson and I reccomend it for high school students looking for a powerful, thought-provoking read.

Nothing was originally published in Danish and has recieved the Libbylit award, which is given to the best children's book of the year published in French. It was also awarded the Danish Cultural Ministry's prize for best children's book of the year in 2001. Nothing has been published in several different languages as have many of Janne Teller's books. For more information on Nothing, Janne Teller, and her other works, please visit www.janneteller.dk.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

OOOOO

"Don't judge a book by it's cover." I'm sure very many are familiar with this saying. And if there is a book that it applies to, it's A Great and Terrible Beauty. I picked this book up expecting a typical historical romance and instead got an impossible-to-put-down story full of magic and adventure.

Gemma Doyle has spent the 16 years of her life living in late 1800s India. Her life is normal as can be until the day of her 16th birthday. While out shopping with her mother, a mysterious man approaches and slips a message to her mother. Suddenly panicked, Mrs. Doyle orders Gemma to go home. Gemma is furious and runs away. But before she can get far, she is struck with a terrible vision of her mother committing suicide. Soon thereafter, her mother is found... dead.

Gemma is sent to England to attend Spence Academy, a boarding school for young ladies. There, she meets Ann, an unpopular scholarship student who befriends her immediately. She also meets Felicity, a headstrong and somewhat snobby daughter of an admiral, as well as Pippa, Felicity's best friend who is beautiful but who seems quite cruel. This unlikely group of girls discover the Realms, a secret place that contains a magic guarded for centuries by 2 ancient groups of sorcerers who will do anything to protect it. They slowly begin to unravel the mystery of the Realms and the death of Gemma's mother. At the same time they discover the great but terrible beauty of the magic within the Realms.

Although I was very surprised by this story, I cannot say I was disappointed. On her website, Libba Bray claims she writes very visually and I can definitely see this in this novel. Descriptions are vivid, if not sometimes graphic, and I have a picture in my head at the end of the book. While sometimes characters can seem a little undeveloped, I found they are often completed in the book's sequels, Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. The plot is full of unexpected turns and twists, and while I wouldn't necessarily call it historical fiction, I enjoyed the period setting. This book is not always lighthearted. Characters deal with difficult subjects such as self harm and drug abuse, and some scenes are a bit mature. But overall this is a wonderful work of fiction and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Libba Bray, who has won an ALA Books for Young Adults Award twice, has done a marvelous job combining adventure, fantasy, and a hint of romance in this book. A Great and Terrible Beauty was a New York Times Bestseller and was on the Tayshas High School Reading List, which is a reading list by the Texas Library Association. I would definitely reccommend this book to high school or mature middle school students.

For more information about A Great and Terrible Beauty, Libba Bray, and her other works, please visit libbabray.com.

About my Bookshelf

I read. A lot. And I have decided to start reviewing the books I read, be they good or bad.
I hope to have some posts up soon!
I'm going to start out by posting reviews of books I've already read. Then once I get a few up here and start to get then hang of things I'm hoping to start posting weekly (at least) reviews of books I am currently reading.