The Taming - Eric Walters and Teresa Toten

Opening line: The noises in my head got louder.

If you're anything like me, Shakespeare makes you cringe. His writing has been ruined for me thanks to many school projects and assignments about his work, so I never really think of going out and reading his books on my own. However, I really seem to enjoy adaptations (generally pretty loose adaptations) or modernizations of his work. In the case of The Taming of the Shrew, the only "version" of the story I know is in the form of 10 Things I Hate About You, which I'm assuming is not a very accurate representation of the original play.

I got an ARC of "The Taming" before it came out, and was pleased to find out that the plot revolved around a school's production of The Taming of the Shrew. As you've probably guessed, the story of the characters who will be in this play also follows a similar plot to the original Shakespeare. Let's dive into the plot, shall we?

Katie, an average, 'invisible' girl at school who only has two friends (and would blend into the wallpaper if she could) does NOT like being the center of attention. The one place she feels at home is on stage, where she comes entirely out of her shell and really becomes her character. Evan, on the other hand, is a spoiled rich boy who loves the attention of others and goes out of his way to be noticed. He's a new kid at school, and has gotten more attention from the other students in his short time at the school than Katie has her entire school career. When they both get cast in the high school production of TTOTS, they start to spend lots of time together. Katie's not like any of the other girls Evan has known (or dated), but he's as intrigued by her as she is by him. They start a relationship - one that is as intense and dangerous as it is loving and sweet.

This is the kind of book I'm on the fence about. While I enjoyed it - I read it in one sitting - by the end I felt a little underwhelmed. The story is told in alternating viewpoints, with both Katie and Evan having about equal page time. By being able to see into both characters' heads, it wasn't hard to guess the characters' motivations. I don't know if it was supposed to be a shock or anything, but I thought it was obvious enough so I'll say it: Katie is VERY naive and innocent, and Evan is a 'reformed' bad-boy who enjoys manipulating people.

I didn't like the way the characters behaved at the end. I find it hard to believe, as someone who went through high school with kids similar to these, that someone who has acted one way for their entire lives suddenly, in the span of a few days, has a complete 180 in behaviour and starts acting a different way. I don't know, maybe it's just me... but the two main characters, particularly Katie, were not as believable at the end.

I really did like how Katie became a different person onstage, though. I think of myself like that - embarrassingly shy in person, but the moment I hit the stage, I'm in my element. I can be whoever you want me to be, and will (try, at least) to command your attention while I'm there. Katie was exactly like this, and I like when I can recognize parts of myself and people I know in book characters. I also really liked the secondary character of Travis, Katie's friend. He was well-written and I wish he would have had more development over the course of the book.

Ultimately, I liked it enough. It wasn't my favourite book by far, but it kept my attention and I didn't feel as if I had wasted my time by the end of it. I wish there had been more humor, as it's based on one of Shakespeare's comedies, and some of the subject matter wouldn't be appropriate for younger readers. I won't be keeping this one (I have limited space!) but I'll be passing it along to friends, as I'm confident enough that they'll enjoy it.

SCORE: 6.5/10
IF YOU LIKE: Jane (April Lindner)

Girl Parts - John M. Cusick

Girl Parts was a very interesting novel. I received an ARC of it a while back, but after a few false starts trying to read it, I gave up and put it back on the shelf. I only recently discovered it again, and decided to pick it up and give it a good shot this time. What really drew me in is the cover: the girl on the front has the NICEST color of red hair!

The book begins with a suicide scene. The girl committing the act does get a name, and while this is her only real appearance in the book, she is crucial to the story. I liken her to Drew Barrymore’s character in the movie Scream: she is only in the beginning, but she is really the catalyst that sets the whole plot in motion. In this case, the girl committing suicide is doing it online, via webcam. Many of her classmates come across her webcast, watching her die right there, live on their computers at home.

David’s parents find out via his computer history that he took part in viewing this webcast. Even though David came across this webcast by accident, he didn’t call the cops or anything to report what he was seeing; he just watched it, the same as everyone else. His parents get in touch with his school therapist, who diagnoses David as “dissociative” and prescribes a very strange solution: a sort of living doll, created to be a companion to David and help him have become less dissociative. Of course, David sees this as a different kind of companion, and keeps interacting with it in hopes that it will eventually become a sex doll. This takes him a while, however, as Rose (the companion) is built with a reward-and-punishment system: good behaviour is rewarded, but bad behaviour (such as kissing before Rose is ready) is punished with an electric shock. Eventually, David gets to the point he wants with Rose, but is enraged by a discovery about her and sends her away. Enter Charlie, another dissociated boy who is very different from David. Rose connects with him, and they begin a friendship.

Girl Parts has some flaws, as most books do, but was an overall well-written book once you get into it. The ARC I was given describes the book as "hilarious", which I don't agree with. I went into this book expecting some sort of a comedy, but it was instead mostly serious. As for characters, they all came across the way they were meant to, I think: Rose was my favourite, gaining her own personality and feelings as the book went on, and coming-of-age in her own right. Charlie was nice and sweet, though a bit strange sometimes, and David was - well - a jerk.

The technology in the book was well-described, and it was a nice little satire of the age we live in today. A robot designed to help teens become more social? Ironic, but Cusick makes it work. The book was clearly well thought-out, and managed to give its message without cramming it down your throat.

The ending, however, left something to be desired. With the fates of the boys pretty much given to us (though still somewhat ambiguous), I was left wondering what happened to Rose. Will there be a sequel, or are we just supposed to forget about her? "Okay, we've explained what's happened to David and Charlie. Maybe they'll just forget about Rose."

A good book overall, with some reread value. But this isn't one that I'll keep I think - I have too many books that I like more that need a space on my shelf.

SCORE: 6.5/10
IF YOU LIKE: Flip (Martyn Bedford), Absolute Boyfriend (Yuu Watase)

The File on Angelyn Stark - Catherine Atkins

It's rare that I dislike the premise of a book. This is one of those cases. It's not that the whole thing was unenjoyable - that would be unfair to the author, and to the book. My problem is... well, you'll see what my problem is.

This book is about a girl named Angelyn Stark. Angelyn is a 15 year old girl who is a troublemaker, but has potential. Unfortunately, not many people see this potential in her - in fact, her support system is limited to about 5 people, two of which she is holding a grudge against, one of which she tries to avoid on a daily basis unless she has to, and her mother, who loves her because she's her daughter but doesn't treat her well all the time due to pressure from both her boyfriend and her job. Oh, and Angelyn's got a boyfriend who pressures her to have sex and deserts her when she refuses, and two wishy-washy friends who only like her because she's a delinquent, but they don't support her unless it's convenient for them.

That's one of my main problems with this book, actually - I know that teens face social problems all the time (I was a teenager, too!) but it seems improbable that EVERYONE at her school, with the exception of Jeni (who Angelyn makes fun of despite her being basically Angelyn's only friend at points), is a total and complete jerk. The school doesn't really seem to care about all of the bad things going on in the school, either; Angelyn's two 'sometime' friends get into fights and openly pick on other kids without any teachers or principals even bothering to step in.

The other problem I had with the book lies with the sheer amount of important plotlines in this book. Any one of these would have made a decent book on their own, but Ms. Atkins took all of her ideas and crammed them in one book. Angelyn has many problems going on in her life, you see. (Now's the time when I give a short list of them, so if you REALLY don't want any plot spoilers go past this part, but all of these are touched on very early in the novel)

1. Her stepfather/Mom's boyfriend is a jerk. He's not good for her mother, or for Angelyn. He is parasitic and oversteps his boundaries with both Angelyn and her Mom often. He is, quite simply put, a jerk.
2. Her boyfriend pressures her for sex, and expects a lot more from her. He's not a bad guy necessarily, but is under the impression that a 15-year-old girl should be putting out for her boyfriend if she doesn't want him to stray.
3. Her teacher, Mr. Rossi, is one of the few people who believes in Angelyn and thinks that she can make something of herself. Angelyn's friends think that he is in love with her, and Angelyn starts to blur the lines between student and teacher relationships.
4. When Angelyn was young, her neighbor and friend Nathan witnessed something between Angelyn and her stepfather. He claims that he saw the stepfather touching her - Angelyn claims that it was simply the way they were playing around. Since then, the Starks stand by the fact that Nathan (and his grandmother, who cared a lot for Angelyn as well) were lying about what they saw. Angelyn told the police that nothing happened... but Nathan and Angelyn can't both be telling the truth.

This book reminded me, in tone, to Prey by Lurlene McDaniel. However, where Lurlene's book was focused on just one of the subjects Catherine Atkins touches on, Angelyn Stark tries to cover a very broad range of topics all at once.

Not great, but not terrible. I wouldn't buy this one when it comes out in hardcover, but rather wait for the paperback or borrow it from the library. It's an easy read in the sense that the writing style isn't very difficult to understand, but the topics it covers might not be appropriate for the younger readers. The book isn't explicit or anything but the sheer amount of 'taboo' topics is a little overwhelming at times. This is the first book I've read by this author, and while I won't be running out to get her other books I wouldn't be against reading them.

SCORE: 5.5/10
IF YOU LIKE: Prey (Lurlene McDaniel), Alt Ed (Catherine Atkins)

Prey - Lurlene McDaniel

Lurlene McDaniel is mostly known for her teen books about tragedy and recovery. I'm not talking Romeo and Juliet, but rather sick teenagers, tragic accidents, and the healing that follows these sort of events. I've read a few of Lurlene's books in the past, mostly when I was younger, but eventually outgrew them. She's good at what she does, but never really seems to deviate from the inspirational teen genre.

That's why I was so shocked to see Prey on the shelf at the bookstore. This story is one completely ripped from today's headlines; the taboo relationship between a student and a teacher. You hear more and more about situations like this one on the news these days, and the news always paints the teacher as the seducer, or the predator.

McDaniel's novel takes this to a whole other level by speaking entirely in first person throughout the story, with chapters alternating between the three main characters: Lori, the teacher; Ryan, the student; Honey, Ryan's friend who harbors a crush on him. Lori, from the start of the book, pinpoints Ryan and says that she knows he will be the One. Ryan, on the other hand, thinks that his new teacher is gorgeous and wants to get to know her better.

As their relationship progresses, it gets harder to tell who seducing who. Both Lori and Ryan try desperately to impress one another, and while the blame should be put on Lori, as she is the adult, it is just as much Ryan's fault that they are doing what they are doing. The sex scenes are handled well, with activities being implied, but never explicitly described. Most readers should be able to know exactly what's happening during these parts, but for those of you who don't: they have sex. Multiple times. And it's consensual (even though Ryan is 15 at the beginning of the book).

The story plays out pretty much the way you would assume it does: Lori does get caught, and goes to jail for a small amount of time before her and Ryan get back together. The true draw to this book lies in the psychology behind the actions, the way the characters think and reason. I very much disliked the character of Lori; I'm not sure anyone would like her. However, I thought she was well written, and I enjoyed reading her view on what was happening. Ryan, on the other hand, did not sound like a 15/16 year old to me. My youngest sister is that age, and she would never think the way that he did. His voice seems like that of an older teen, 17-18, or possibly even a young adult. I know it must be hard to write as a 15 year old boy, but his character didn't seem realistic to me.

Honey, on the other hand, is a whole other story. While her voice is fine - she speaks and thinks exactly like a girl her age should - I felt that her parts were added in only to progress the story later on in the book. While she was indeed the catalyst that brought on the climax of the book, her earlier scenes didn't seem that important; I felt like they were only there so that her inclusion later on in the novel wouldn't be as random. There wasn't much depth to her character, or the character of Ryan.

While this was not an amazing book, I think Lurlene did a good job with the subject. It's hard to write about something like this, and I commend her for leaving her comfort zone and writing about something unfamiliar to her. While I wouldn't read this one again, I certainly read through it fast, and found myself wondering about what would happen to the characters.

SCORE: 6/10
IF YOU LIKE: Go Ask Alice (Anonymous), The Face on the Milk Carton (Caroline B. Cooney)