From the inside flap:
We now present the seventh and final intstallment in the epic tale of Harry Potter.

Review:
Spoilers beyond the cut.

Read more…

From the back cover:
“It’s just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery…”

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can’t resist—books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor’s wife’s library, wherever they are to be found.

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Markus Zusak has created an unforgettable novel about the ability of books to feed the soul.

Review:
I’m no particular World War II buff, but found The Book Thief to be exceptional and fascinating. The endearing, deftly drawn characters themselves are what I loved the most. The tale’s not as glum and dire as one might expect: there are many funny bits, heart-warming bits, and mischievous children. There are also some incredibly sad bits, which oughtn’t be surprising given the subject matter.

The story is uniquely told by Death, who is a droll storyteller. He’s weary, and he gets no particular relish from his job. To him, war is nothing to revel in—it’s just more work heaped upon him. The narrator of the audiobook, Allan Corduner, renders him excellently and thoroughly Britishly.

There’s not really a linear plot, just a variety of incidents occurring to the families living in one little neighborhood over a period of several years. In fact, Death sometimes jumps ahead in time to fill one in on a character’s eventual fate, which then made for bittersweet reading when one returns to the narrative in which they are so vibrantly alive.

My favorites of the wonderful, memorable characters, in ascending order of preference: Liesel’s foster mother, Rosa, yells a lot but has a big heart. The scenes where the fierce love she has for Liesel is most obvious are very moving. Liesel’s best friend, Rudy, is a brave, energetic boy (always pestering her for a kiss) who’s perpetually hungry. But absolutely stealing the show is her new “papa,” Hans Huberman. I absolutely adore Hans, as he’s one of those sweet, patient dads who knows the right things to say and is absolutely a good man through and through.

The Book Thief is technically a young adult book, but doesn’t really feel like one. It could just as easily have been marketed as adult fiction. There are many things to recommend it (and I do, highly) but the vivid characters alone are enough.

From the back cover:
It is the middle of the summer, but there is an unseasonal mist pressing against the windowpanes. Harry Potter is waiting nervously in his bedroom at the Dursleys’ house in Privet Drive for a visit from Professor Dumbledore himself. One of the last times he saw the Headmaster was in a fierce one-to-one duel with Lord Voldemort, and Harry can’t quite believe that Professor Dumbledore will actually appear at the Dursleys’ of all places. Why is the Professor coming to visit him now? What is it that cannot wait until Harry returns to Hogwarts in a few weeks’ time? Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts has already got off to an unusual start, as the worlds of Muggle and magic start to intertwine…

Review:
Oh, Half-Blood Prince, how I absolutely love you. You come very close to tying with Prisoner of Azkaban for my affections.

Things I Love:

* The “Spinner’s End” chapter. It’s one of the best chapters I’ve ever read anywhere, and Snape has great dialogue throughout. I really, really hope this bit gets filmed.
* It’s funny again!
* The pre-school bit doesn’t drag too much.
* Harry tells adults stuff this time! This is a big one for me. They don’t always completely agree with him, but at least the withholding of information is not being used as a plot device.
* Ron and Lavender. I can’t believe I actually forgot about this. Also, Ron’s just endearingly bumbling in general.
* The “good side” is behaving far less dysfunctionally this time around. The plot doesn’t hinge on great acts of stupidity on their parts.
* Snape.
* Fleur’s reaction to Molly’s assumption that her wedding with Bill will not transpire on account of his injuries.

Things I Don’t Love:

* Hermione seems a little flat. I dunno, she’s just not one of my favorite characters. Not even top 10.
* The whole Sectumsempra thing. Suddenly you can make incantations work on your first try without knowing first what you’re trying to achieve? Grr.

Oh the whole, Half-Blood Prince is fab. I’m really glad I decided to reread it before Deathly Hallows, because I’d forgotten much more than I realized. Now it’s onward ho into the final installment!

From the back cover:
The return of the pride!

The secret super-villain society is back, but this all-new group isn’t make up of the Runaways’ evil parents. Who are these shadowy players, and what do they want with the Marvel Universe’s next generation of heroes? Plus: When the youngest member of the Runaways is separated from her teammates, Molly Hayes must survive a night alone on the mean streets of Los Angeles! The eleven-year-old mutant girl soon hooks up with a new group of runaways, but is their mysterious leader a hero or a villain?

Review:
After the rather pointless first chapter in this volume, the story deals with the online buddies of a former member who perform several unrealistic feats of haxx0ring and resurrect an old villain.

It’s all very meh. I don’t have faith that this was really planned in advance, so a lot of the things mentioned felt like retcon to me. I was also spoiled on what’s supposed to be the shocking climax of the arc, so that probably didn’t help matters, either.

Though the plot was disappointing, there were some moments of interpersonal interaction that were good. Some things in this arena were rushed and over-angsty, but I particularly liked Nico’s struggles with leadership, as it reminded me of Buffy’s possibly-too-harsh approach from S7 of that show.

All in all, the second “season” of Runaways is not as good as the first one. However, I happened to read the first issue written by Joss Whedon, and it’s quite good, so I’m still going to continue on to the final volume of this storyline.

From the back cover:
In the not-so-distant future, Tally Youngblood is quickly approaching her 16th birthday and the mandatory pretty-making surgery that accompanies it. But when Tally’s best friend Shay refuses the surgery and runs away to the Smoke, Tally must choose between friendship and beauty.

When a top-secret organization forces Tally to spy on the rebels of the Smoke—or risk being an Ugly forever—she reluctantly gives in. As the rebels befriend her, she learns that the pretty-making surgery may change more than just her looks. The people of the Smoke are working on a cure. But they need someone to become Pretty to find out if it works.

Review:
Uglies reminds me of Feed, with futuristic teens (encouraged to party rather than think) and new slang and gadgetry. Oh, and lesions.

Tally and Shay are friends who get up to various tricks and go exploring and stuff. Tally is gung-ho to become Pretty, but Shay is not enthusiastic. After Shay runs off to avoid the surgery, Tally is drafted to track her down and help the government round up the rebels.

After an extremely boring travel segment (who believes that an imperiled heroine will really die less than halfway through the book?), Tally arrives at her destination. Once there, she feels kinship with the rebels and is completely annoying by not just coming out with the truth and getting it over with. More stupidity and rationalization for not confessing follows, and I didn’t like that so much of the plot hinged on the protagonist being a moron.

I’m not sure what to make of this series. The characters are kind of flat. Part of the problem might’ve been with the narrator of the audiobook, who imbued Tally’s friends with dry, nasal voices that made them sound stoned or whiny. Some plotting elements annoyed me and more than once my attention drifted. I probably liked the futuristic setting enough to continue on to the next book, at least.