I lost power on Saturday night around 6:00 PM. Not the most fun, but a rare chance to sit in silence and read by candlelight. I felt so…early colonial period? Where’s my quill pen? Anyway, once my eyes adjusted, it was actually kind of nice.
I managed to finish 2 books this way. They were quite different and both pretty good reads in their own way. The first book was I kissed a zombie, and I liked it by Adam Seltzer.
Clearly not something a Puritan settler would read, but don’t judge.
I liked this book like junk food: clearly not as substantial or filling as a steak and potatoes, but satisfying like a bag of Cheetos. Mmm. Cheetos.
The main character Algonquin Rhodes (who sometimes goes by Alley, sometimes Gonk) falls in love with Doug, who is a little…different than the other boys. He’s cool, goth-looking, has a great singing voice, and is very, very dead. In a world full of “post-humans” such as vampires, werewolves and zombies, the ultimate status symbol is to date them and possibly convert into becoming one . Hmm. Bella and Edward much?
But that’s the thing: unlike Twilight and similar horror/love stories, this book is a fun satire about dating the undead. It’s a fun look at high school cliques and finding yourself and growing up. It pokes fun at certain stalker-ish vampires and horror clichés. Imagine kissing your new boyfriend only to discover he smells like…embalming fluid. And he needs to drink it every 4 hours or he’ll turn to dust. I definitely laughed a few times and pretty much flew right through this book.
For a change of pace, I read When you reach me, by Rebecca Stead.
This critically acclaimed (it won the 2010 Newbery award) and imaginative book takes an unusual look at growing up in New York City during the late-1970s. Miranda lives with her mother and spends a lot of her free time helping her mom practice for a shot at winning big bucks on the $20,000 Pyramid game show. Miranda is trying to branch out and make new friends after her best friend Sal starts to distance himself from her. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own. Everyone in Miranda’s life starts to play a role that fits together like puzzle pieces.
The story unravels, part mystery, part coming-of-age story, even part fantasy. After I finished the book, the information I learned at the end made me want to go back and re-read certain parts of the story. It was unlike anything I’ve read and I really did enjoy it. Was it the best children’s book of the year? Who knows, but I read it cover-to-cover without putting it down, (except to light another candle) which is extremely rare for me. I often give up on books a few chapters in and trudge through, but this held my attention and surprised me with its ending.
Overall, these were two bright spots in an otherwise dark, dark night.
Sharon Long
Teen Services Librarian
What I read by candlelight
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