Title: The Schwa Was Here

Author: Neal Shusterman

Paperback: 228

Publisher: Puffin; Second Edition edition (March 2, 2006)

Genre: Humor

Source: purchased

Synopsis: (From Amazon)

When Anthony "Antsy" Bonano and his friends meet Calvin Schwa, they are impressed and puzzled by his ability to appear and disappear before their very eyes. Antsy concocts a moneymaking scheme based on the Schwa's invisibility that seems promising until he and his friends overreach and are caught by the town's legendary mean millionaire, Mr. Crawley. Their resulting community service project--walking the 7 virtues and 7 vices (Crawley's 14 afghan hounds) and going out with Crawley's granddaughter Lexie--cements and ultimately challenges friendships. The humor is just right for boys, but the complexity of plot, the depth and richness of the characters, and the underlying seriousness of the issues belies the easy-to-read comedy. Schwa is an average kid who hangs on the periphery of the crowd and longs to be noticed and included, not simply ignored. His character is extreme, but far too many adolescents--and the adults who work with them--will sadly and guiltily recognize him.

My Thoughts:

This is possibly the greatest, most confusing book ever. Schwa is a "Functionally Invisible" child ignored by everyone, even his dad. I really love this story because it goes through all the problems of being a teen like girls, parents, and who is and who isn't your friend. But I sometimes feel sad for the Schwa because no one listens to him, no one sees him, and in the story he talks about his paper clip collection using those paper clips as a metaphor for himself. He says that, like the paperclip, his life is about holding everything together and never being noticed for it.

I also like Mr.Crawley, the crazy old man that just happens to own everything. He's absolutely insane, but he can be insane with the amount of money and power he has. Antsy tells a story about one year a group of kids egged Mr. Crawley's house, and for the next month, no one could find eggs anywhere within their neighborhood.

If you like this book, look for Antsy Does Time.

Thə End

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SNAPSRating: ✭✭✭✭

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? Yes
Who should read this? This book is for tweens or teens and sometimes older. You should read this book if you like weird random events and humor.
Next on the TBR pile: Paper Towns by John Green

Title: Fool

Author: Christopher Moore

Paperback: 352

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1 Repritn Edition (February 23, 2010)

Genre: Satire

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

"This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank . . . If that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!"

My thoughts: Fool. My favorite book spit forth from the hands of the brilliant Christopher Moore. All of his books are amazingly funny and written well and this twist on the classic tale, King Lear, shows all his talent as a writer in one 352 page book. Fool is a somewhat older genre than my usual books, but I saw it, picked it up and it was awesome. I love this book with parts of the book going everywhere from kings to witches to the lovely fool. . .ghosts, witches, jesters and a rhyming head floating above a pot. I think Moore's imagination is pure genius, and for satire, he exceeds every expectation I ever had for a book.

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SNAPS

Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? have been
Who should read this? This book is for adult males. There is some swearing and sexual content, but it's an enjoyable book.

Next on the TBR pile: The Schwa was here

The Nightside novels. My great salvation. My stress relief. These books are amazing. A story about the Nightside. A city in the heart of London. A square mile of Hell where it's always 3:00 am and the sun don't shine. Where myths and legends walk side by side where anything is on sale and usually for a price, most times your soul, but most time, someone else's. In this hell hole a P.I. named John Taylor strives in this world of damnation. He has a gift. A gift for finding things, a view of all 10 plaines of the world. He can see the world stretched farther than the 3 dimensions of comfort. These books are my stress relief. I read these books over and over again, just because I enjoy the story that's never perfect and always has millions of flaws, being able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This is the Nightside, where reality is nothing but a fly to be squashed. Where angels fight over it and an old testament creation holds rule over the city she built. Nothing is ever sane and time is running out. The Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat hold nothing on this book.

Title: Practical Demonkeeping

Author: Christopher Moore

Paperback: 243

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (May 25, 2004)

Genre: Fantasy

Synopsis from Amazon:

Good-natured, often funny, but excessively complicated tale that matches a people-eating demon against his reluctant master and the citizens of a small California town. First-novelist Moore throws in more plot twists than the Pacific Coast highway has curves. He obviously knows and is amused by the flawed but feisty denizens with which he inhabits Pine Grove, south of the Big Sur wilderness area. To this tourist town comes Travis O'Hearn, a 20-year-old who, 70 years before, got saddled with a demon, Catch, who gave him eternal youth plus problems. Catch is sometimes under Travis's control but often not, particularly when he's hungry. Travis wants out, namely by finding an incantation that will return the demon to Hell. On Travis's side are the King of the Djinns and August Brine, Pine Grove's purveyor of bait, tackle, and fine wines. Others who swell the cast past overflowing include waitress Jenny and her estranged, alcoholic husband Robert; tough old Mavis, who owns the Head of the Slug bar (it had been Head of the Wolf until animal-rights activists leaned on her); retired woodcarving codger Effrom and his wife Amanda; hotel night auditor Billy Winston, who flirts with other males by computer modem while wearing red silk panties; once-battered Rachael, who runs a coven to empower women through worship of the Goddess; and Detective Sergeant Alfonse Rivera, who fears he will end up bagging microwave burritos at a 7-Eleven unless he nails down a case.

My Thoughts: This is another one of Christopher Moore's completely improbable stories. He uses the demon from Lamb and spins him into the tale of Practical Demonkeeping. The books magical creatures, like the djinn and demon, makes the story more fantastical than other books that take place in our own time. The way Christopher Moore writes this book it feels like he was having a great time while writing it. I remember a part of the book where the main character has thought of what would happen if someone figured out about the demon. He thinks about the demon eating a man then an officer comes behind him and simply asks, "Umm what is he doing?" then he explains about the eating habits of the demon, and the officers nods like he's saying "been there, done that" "well that's our mayor he's eating so I would like to see your license to be eating a county official" and then he gets back to the moment like the worst thing could be waiting in line to get a license to eat county officials.

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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? have been
Who should read this? This book is for adult males. There is some swearing and sexual content, but it's an enjoyable book, to say the least

Next on the TBR pile: Fool by Christopher Moore

Title: Lamb

Author: Christopher Moore

Paperback: 444

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; First Perennial edition (February 4, 2003)

Genre: Satire

Audiobook: Read by Fisher Stevens

Synopsis from Amazon

The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John leave a gaping hole in the story of Jesus. They tell of the shepherds, the angel, the virgin, the manger, and the wise men, then jump to Jesus as a thirty-something rabbi. What did Jesus do during his formative years? Christopher Moore has an answer in his latest novel Lamb: The Gospel According To Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. Biff is Levi bar Alphaeus, son of a stonemason and childhood friend of Joshua bar Jehovah, son of God. The first section of the novel tells of the adventures of Biff, Joshua, and Maggie in and around Nazareth. The next three sections take Biff and Joshua to visit and learn from each of the three magi. The last section puts a Christopher Moore spin on the story told in the New Testament. We can read the good news according to Biff because the angel Raziel has resurrected Biff [and one other person] to write their versions of the Gospel. Biff's interactions with Raziel are interspersed with the main story, usually at the beginnings of chapters, and [inconsistently] set apart as long block quotes. This is a humorous book from a master of humor.

My thoughts: This book was hilarious. I know it's made up, but it simply fills in a blank space for the Bible. With no way to prove the story is false it just makes everything so much more thrilling. Although it's a complete blasphemy, I liked the part where Joshua and Biff were stuck in China at one of the Magi's palaces. Biff was asking questions that he wasn't supposed to ask, so he got poisoned and temporarily paralyzed. While he was paralyzed, the people at the palace painted Biff blue. Though this book is not well suited for children I enjoyed it and learned some things about the Tora and about the Jewish law back then.

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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? yes
Who should read this? This book is for adult males. There is some swearing, but if you like satire, you'll enjoy it

Next on the TBR pile: Practical Demonkeeper

Title: Bloody Jack

Author: L.A. Meyers

Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Harcourt Paperbacks (June 1, 2004)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Audiobook: narrated by Katherine Kellgren

Synopsis from Amazon:

The Jacky of the title was born Mary Faber, whose life turned upside down when a pestilence in 1797 left her orphaned and homeless. She turned to the streets, surviving for a few years by begging, brawling and occasionally stealing on the dirty streets of London. But she lost her taste for that life when her best mate was "done for" by a vile city grave robber, and with few options remaining she hacked away her hair, changed her name, lied about her age and secured a post as a ship's boy on HMS Dolphin.

My thoughts: this is a very interesting story that takes a lot of unexpected turns. L.A. Meyers is a good writer that likes to lead you one way then pull you into a completely different direction. Jacky knows that if her ship mates find out that she's not a boy, they will leave her at the nearest port, but Meyers is good at putting Jacky at the brink of danger, and then pulling her back. Jacky always seems to get into trouble, even when she tries not to, so that's what makes this book so exciting.

I actually listened to this and what I like about the narrator is that Katherine Kellgren does so many voices that it sounds like more than one person is telling the story.

SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? YES!
Who should read this?: anyone interested in a historical fiction that tells about pirates and life on the sea

Next on TBR list: Lamb by Christopher Moore