Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

It's official:  Simone Elkeles is my new favorite author.

In Perfect Chemistry, we were introduced to Alex Fuentes (I won't tell you what his real first name is, since I know that will make you curse me for getting a certain song stuck in your head), who lived in the Chicago 'burbs with his mom and two brothers.  After the events in Perfect Chemistry, Alex's family moved to Mexico; but Carlos, the middle sibling, is getting into a lot of trouble, so his mom sends him off to live with Alex in The State of Boulder, where Alex is going to school.

Carlos isn't exactly happy about this (I wouldn't be, either), but there's a light beyond yonder teenage angst as he finds himself inexplicably attracted to Kiara, a student at Flatirons High who is assigned to show him around his first week of class.  After getting into more trouble, he convinces Kiara that they should pretend to be dating, for no logical reason that I could gather; but it's more like they're ACTUALLY dating, and P.S. he's living in Kiara's house with her parents and little brother, so that's kind of awkward.

I didn't like this book as much as Perfect Chemistry--the characters, especially Carlos, weren't as appealing as Alex and Brittany are; and the majority of the plot felt very unlikely, from the fact that Alex somehow affords his own apartment in Boulder (that mechanics job must pay a lot), to Kiara's dad turning out to be some kind of bad-ass.  But then I was probably biased by my aversion to Boulder.

That being said, I still really enjoyed it.  I stayed up until four in the morning reading after working all day, which doesn't happen to me that often.  Although Kiara and Carlos aren't as appealing as their collegiate counterparts, they are very well-drawn characters.  Carlos reminded me of my little brother so much and gave me a similar intense desire to shake some sense into him.  And while Carlos and Kiara don't have quite as much chemistry as Brit and Alex, a lot of their interactions were hilarious and simply fun to read.

And in case you were wondering, yes, the scene on the cover does happen in the book.

The ending is even more ridiculous than the ending of Perfect Chem, and is followed by a very disturbing epilogue that takes place twenty-six years later.  Twenty-six years!  I'll be ancient by then.  But then I started thinking--what if the epilogue takes place in the present?  Then the events of Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction would have taken place in the '80s, which quite frankly makes a lot more sense as far as gangs, affordable housing, and being able to use one's locker in public school is concerned.

In any case, I must now read all of Simone Elkeles' books, because they are seriously fun and entertaining and unputdownable.  I highly recommend her books, but wait until you've read Perfect Chemistry before you pick up Rules of Attraction.

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Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

I have to admit the only reason I picked up this book was because I thought the promotional video for it (or videomo, as some call it--the author's website is kick-ass, by the way) was cute.  That is a pretty lame reason to buy a book, but I don't care, because I freaking loved it!

Brittany is the captain of the cheerleading squad and the queen of the Fairfield High School.  Alex is a gang member and he frightens the shit out of everyone.  She met him at the candy stooooore--oh, wait, no she doesn't... sorry, I got distracted there for a moment.  They don't really having anything to do with one another, for obvious reasons, until they're partnered together in their chemistry class.  Despite the fact that they would seem to be total opposites, Alex and Brittany are actually a lot alike--they both never show the world who they really are and what they're thinking or feeling.  Until they meet each other, of course.  Then sparks fly, etc. etc.  But in Fairfield, there is a definite, one might say almost Westside Story-esque, divide between northsiders (Brittany) and southsiders (Alex).  Will Brit and Alex be able to bridge the social and culture differances that kept them apart before chemistry class?  Will they get an A on their chemistry project?  And will Alex graduate from high school without being arrested?  I just don't know!

First of all, I love books that have this kind of storyline.  As with any genre, the true enjoyment of the novel comes not from what the plot line is, but how the story plays out; and for me Perfect Chemistry played out perfectly.  For the most part it's just pure fun, with Brittany and Alex getting into battles of wills and wits and playing practical jokes on each other.  It's also serious when it needs to be, though.  Furthermore, I loved the characters:  Brittany at first does seem like a prissy little bitch, but she has likable qualities that come out in the course of the book.  Likewise, Alex acts like a total jack-ass when you first meet him in the book, but becomes likable as the story progresses.  In fact, Alex is an AWESOME character.  I really liked the fact that the reader's journey mirrors the characters' as they get to know one another.

For me, this was a perfect book about high school.  The only thing that was missing was the big dance/game at the end where everything happens.  But I didn't really miss it that much, so it was okay.  This book was great and awesome and enjoyable and you should read it.

And now for the Perfect Chemistry video blog!  Just because I need to get it out of my system:

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Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee

After eight years, two continents, five countries, and countless states, I have finally read this book.  And it was good--actually, really great!

Furian is a mysterious figure on the Isle of Venus, an alternate world obviously modeled after 18th-century Venice.  Although Furian is an educated gentleman, he lives in the gutters of Venus and makes money through odd jobs such as collecting bodies from the canals for the mad scientist, Doctor Shaachen, to experiment on.  One night during Carnival, he spies an elegant and expensive mask floating in the canal.  Not having found any bodies that night, he takes the mask to Shaachen and unknowingly sets himself on the path of searching for a group of killers in Venus who use magic to ensnare their victims.

This is not the type of book where things are laid out clearly at all.  At first you have no idea what's going on.  Then Lee lays a trail of breadcrumbs, promising that eventually you'll find out.  Things are never what they seem in this world or in the words used to describe it, which are lyrical and beautiful and obfuscating, most especially when describing the basest actions.  There is also tons of symbolism in the novel, which I'm not even going to attempt to unravel at this point.  But color, statues, and masks obviously have some sort of iconic meaning.

This is the first book in a series that is themed after the elements--fire, water, earth, and air.  As you can probably guess by the title, this one is dedicated to water--and there is a lot of water, as well as the color blue and green, in the world of Furian.  However, I think blue represents much more than just water--it's indicative of magic, divinity, love.  Green hides vast secrets.  Still waters definitely run deep in this novel, as the reader discovers.

The more I think about this book, the more it reminds me of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell--not because the plots are similar at all, but because they both death with themes of magic, lust for power, hidden worlds and dangers, and love.  However, I think Faces Under Water is by far the better book--not just because it's about 600 pages shorter, but because the writing style is much more lyrical and beautiful, the story is told in a more interesting way, and it makes a bigger impact on the reader.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating that Tanith Lee is one of the most underrated authors out there.  I honestly think she is one of the greatest fantasy writers of our generation, and this book only confirmed my opinion.  The first fifty pages of Faces Under Water are hard going simply because everything feels so impenetrable, and I didn't think the reveal at the end of the book came together as smoothly as it could have; but overall this is a great, enthralling, and very quick read.  I know the cover is terrible, but I would recommend Lee's novels to anyone who enjoys fantasy.


Venice Challenge: 2/6 books read

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Chicago 4.0 by Chloe Neill + Giveaway!

Chloe Neill, one of my favorite writers, is releasing a new book in July.  To help spread the word, I asked her if she'd write a guest post about some new Chicago locations we'll see in Twice Bitten and other future releases (note:  all the photos above were taken by Chloe herself).



Hello, everyone! I'm writing this from the Loop neighborhood in downtown Chicago, just across from the Chicago River and a few blocks from Lake Michigan. I'm in town for today's 25th Annual Greater Chicago Food Depository Hunger Walk--and I'm proud to say we've raised over $1,800 to date!

I'm also here to location scout for the next Chicagoland Vampires novel--the follow-up to July 6's TWICE BITTEN--which will be released in July 2011. During my last scouting trip, I visited Ukrainian Village and checked out church architecture, and did a bit of scouting through Wicker Park and down Damen Avenue. You may recall that Mallory's house is a Wicker Park brownstone, and a good chunk of TWICE BITTEN takes place in Ukrainian Village, including a church modeled after St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church.

This time, I'm mostly scouting locations in the Loop, looking for some interesting sites for both the Dark Elite and Chicagoland Vampires series. St. Sophia's, the boarding school in FIRESPELL, is located just north of the Loop on Erie, so I'm looking into locations in which it might be interesting to host future Dark Elite events. I'm very excited about the Rookery, which has a fabulous exterior and gorgeous interior. I also love the industrial look of El track struts, and can only imagine vampirish things occur there.

I also got to pay my first visit to Chicago's amazing Harold Washington Library, with its gorgeous stone facade and owls perched on the corners. It's also ginormous, and the 9th floor hosts an amazing indoor "Winter Garden" space with a greenhouse cage-like roof.

[Little known fact: In the first draft of SOME GIRLS BITE, Ethan and Merit met for the first time outside the library. She was brooding over the fact that she wouldn't be able to visit the library during business (daylight) hours. He feared she'd expose herself to the sun waiting for the library to open, and came to her rescue. It was so NOT appropriate for their personalities.]

I also got to pay a visit to the fabulous Field Museum--Chicago's natural history museum. The Field Museum will play a key part in a future Dark Elite novel, so I wanted to get a look at the space and a feel for interesting scene possibilities--including the totem pole section of the Ancient Americas display. Truth be told, I also wanted to get a look at Sue, the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton. Tres cool!

Also on the agenda for this trip: Another visit to Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, some purchasing of Blackhawks goods (!!!), and a little more Wicker Park action. It's amazing how much you can cram into a trip if you plan carefully. :)

Well, that's all for now. I've got to grab my maps and hit the road again. Thanks for reading today!


Thank you so much, Chloe!  I loved your "deleted scene" from Some Girls Bite, although dying to get into the library is going a little far even for me. ;)


Chloe Neill is offering a copy of Twice Bitten to one lucky reader of this blog! Just leave a comment on this post (make sure to include a valid e-mail address), and I will pull a name randomly.  US & Canada only; contest ends Sunday, June 27th, at 6 PM EST.

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Musical Notes

Hello, everyone!  I hope you had a good week.  I was in Oklahoma looking for an apartment for when I start grad school in the fall, which is why I've been MIA this week.  Not to mention, my laptop was at Staples because I wanted to get a larger hard drive for it--which failed.  Oh well.  Anyway, I'm back and have a lot of posts planned for the next few days.  In the meantime, here's an overdue edition of Musical Notes, my semi-regular feature where I combine my love of books with music by sharing some songs that I think fit in with my reading.

Faces Under Water

This is the perfect song for this book.  I can't tell you why, because that would be major spoilerage, but trust me.  It's perfect!

Something else I felt fit in perfectly with this novel was the Art of Noise's Seduction of Claude Debussy, which I heard about from someone on Twitter. I think it was Binnsy. Anyway, there is a ton of color symbolism in this book, especially of the color blue, and the album is all about making color with music.

Supposedly if you stare at the blue screen long enough, it moves.

In Mike We Trust

Mike has a very sketchy, yet likable uncle.  I, too, had a sketchy but charismatic uncle.  He wasn't as bad as Mike, but he had his moments.  Whenever I hear this song, I think of him.

What have you been listening to and reading this week?

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BBAW 2010 is Coming!

Have you heard?  Book Blogger Appreciation Week is scheduled for September 13-17, and is accepting registrations right now through July 7th. 

BBAW is a celebration of the book blogging community.  It has awards, interviews, prizes, and other fun activities that bring book bloggers together.  I participated last year and it was really, really fun.  If you're involved at all in book blogging, I highly recommend signing up.

As part of this year's BBAW, we're being asked to pick five posts that we believe best represent our blog in the nomination categories.  This year I'm entering in the best eclectic blog niche category; and for best feature, author interviews and best written blog (why the heck not, I thought to myself).  Picking posts for these is of course one of the hardest things to do!  But I managed.  Here are the posts that I feel give a snapshot of what my blog is all about:

Best Written Blog:

• Novels & Gender
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• The New Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thomson
• The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
• My Favorite Reads:  Archangel
  

Best Author Interviews:

• Leanna Renee Hieber
• Chloe Neill
• Simone Elkeles
• Joseph Mallord William Turner (wrote poetry, so technically an author)
• Edouard Manet

Best Eclectic Book Blog:

• Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? by Linda Nochlin
• Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• Persuasion by Jane Austen
• Children's Books That Freaked Me the Hell Out
• The More You Wish You Didn't Know:  Ancient Goddess Cults
  

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Rosario + Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda

This is a very fun, cute manga, although it's insanely repetitive and I'm not sure I want to keep reading it.

Average guy Tsukune can't get into a decent high school, so he finds himself enrolled in Yokai Academy, the only place that will accept him.  At Yokai, Tsukune is anything but average--because he's the only human in the entire place!  Unbeknownst to Tsukune or his parents, Yokai is a high school for supernatural creatures who need to learn how to integrate with the human population.  Because of this, they're supposed to keep their monster identities under wraps--but very few of them can keep to this rule.

Fortunately for Tsukune and his continued bodily existence, the first day he arrives he meets Moka, a cute vampire girl.  Moka and Tsukune become fast friends.  Then for the rest of the series, Tsukune is lured into danger by some monster (usually female), Moka gets offended, then winds up changing into her kick-ass vampire form so she can save him from said monster.

I like formulas as much as the next person (perhaps more), but when a formula is already predictable and boring by chapter two, that's a problem.  This manga became repetitive very quickly, and while I really liked the characters and found Yokai Academy and the art work to be quite charming, I got pretty bored with the story line.

Another thing that started to bug me about this manga is how sexually objectified the young girls are.  There's an entire chapter where the plot revolves around peering up the girls' skirts.  It would be pretty obvious the author was male even if we didn't know who wrote it.  I also find it very interesting that all the girls at Yokai--who for the most part very sexually aggressive--are all MONSTERS.  Even though there's no overt sex in this manga, it's very sexually suggestive--but in strange, creepy ways.

I can see why this manga is so popular, but I'm not sure I want to continue with it.  Not because of the sexual objectification stuff, because that's a relatively minor part of the stories, but mainly because the formula is already wearing on me.  That being said, if I was younger I could see myself enjoying this series A LOT, so I think I actually would recommend it to people who are interested.

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