EVERY DAY (David Levithan) - October 27/12

Wow. Wow wow wow. Just when I think I'm not capable of loving a book along comes this masterpiece. I was immediately sucked into its captivating premise and I was wondering how Levithan would use it to tell an actual story, and I was not disappointed by the results. It's extremely episodic at times, but the various bodies that A winds up in are fascinating, in their own way. But it's the romance between A and Rhiannon that really separates this book from everything else. It's just amazing and enthralling and oh my god so romantic. I was getting choked up more and more as the book drew to a close, and I completely lost it when it turned out that A was attempting to get Rhiannon with Alexander. Did not see that coming. The ending, with A traveling far away for unknown reasons, is maybe a little more open than I would've liked, but maybe (hopefully) Levithan has a sequel in mind. **** out of ****

DON'T CARE HIGH (Gordon Korman) - October 24/12

Oh, thank god this is my last Gordon Korman book. I really can't understand how this guy has any popularity or success. He's just an awful, awful writer and he's completely unable to create interesting characters or a compelling narrative. And there's nothing here that's even remotely funny. What an ordeal. * out of ****

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (Robert James Waller) - October 22/12

See, CS Richardson, this is how you do a book with poetic passages. Waller offers up a couple of extraordinarily vivid characters and an inherently compelling premise, and it becomes more and more difficult not to become wrapped up in this admittedly simple story. It got to the point where I was actually quite upset when I learned that Robert and Francesca were never reunited, and there were a few passages towards the end where I had to choke back tears (which was problematic, to say the least, since I was on a crowded subway car at the time). And yeah, Waller occasionally goes overboard with the poetic stuff, but still, it's otherwise such an engrossing book that I can overlook that. ***1/2 out of ****

Y THE LAST MAN: WHYS AND WHEREFORES (Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan Jr) - October 20/12

The Y the Last Man saga comes to a close with this almost satisfactory installment that was just a little too grim and depressing for my liking. Yorick doesn't end up with either Beth or 355, but rather with the one-night stand he produced a kid with? And they apparently stayed together purely for the sake of the kid? And Yorick winds up old and crazy? And he euthanizes Amp? I mean, geez. The series leading up to this point was fast-paced and comparatively lighthearted, so it's very odd that this is how Vaughan has chosen to end the tale. Still, it answered all my questions and I basically read it in one sitting, so... *** out of ****

Y THE LAST MAN: MOTHERLAND (Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Goran Sudzuka, Jose Marzan Jr) - October 20/12

Even this close to the end this series is spinning its wheels like crazy. The first half of the book features a few impressive revelations, including a fairly unconvincing explanation for what caused the plague, but Vaughan devotes the final third to two seemingly inconsequential stories (the gravediggers and the artists), and it's impossible not to wonder just why they've been inclusion (besides, of course, the aforementioned wheel-spinning). **1/2 out of ****

THE EMPEROR OF PARIS (CS Richardson) - October 19/12

Holy god was this ever bad. Richardson employs a "poetic" writing style that's nothing short of infuriating, and his refusal to develop ANY of the characters proves disastrous. It gets to the point where you're just reading words without actually comprehending what you're reading. Talk about a pretentious mess. This is the kind of book that makes people hate reading. I finished it quickly but I still have no idea what it was about or what its point was. Jesus Christ what an ordeal. 1/2* out of ****

THE GUTTENBERG BIBLE (Steve Guttenberg) - October 18/12

This affable but almost disastrously overlong autobiography contains a number of interesting stretches, as Guttenberg certainly reveals himself to be a (relatively) humble guy with plenty to say about his experiences in Hollywood. But the book, which feels as long as a Stephen King novel, is simply too much of a good thing, as Guttenberg writes and writes (and writes) about things that simply aren't that interesting. (Even the things that ARE interesting are padded out to an almost unreasonable extent.) This should've been a third of its length. **1/2 out of ****

BATMAN: YEAR ONE (Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, with Richmond Lewis) - October 10/12

Wow, I really enjoyed this one. A very tough and gritty Batman story that contains more than a few echoes to Nolan's film series. It's extremely fast paced and full of exciting sequences (eg Bruce Wayne saves Gordon's baby from drowning), and it's incredible that it hasn't been turned into a movie. ***1/2 out of ****

THE CASUAL VACANCY (J.K. Rowling) - October 9/12

This is the reason I now finish every book I start. I was really, really hating this in its first 100, 150 pages, as Rowling offers up a whole mess of characters and doesn't adequately develop them. So I was, for most of the book, struggling to figure out who all these people were, a problem I had even towards the end (eg Simon and Colin were impossible to distinguish and I don't think I ever really figured out who Maureen or Tessa were). Nevertheless Rowling includes several engrossing subplots, especially the bullied Indian girl, that slowly but surely transforms the book into a surprisingly readable work, with the Magnolia like finale certainly far more powerful than I had any right to expect. *** out of ****

THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS (Chris Bohjalian) - October 3/12

All of my usual complaints with Bohjalian's books apply here - ie it's too long, it's overwritten, it's too self-serious, etc - and I just found that most of this book was a total slog to get through. Bohjalian clearly has a deep connection to the material and it does seem like that has prevented him from writing a novel designed to entertain more than to educate. There are a few compelling subplots here, including the shocking return (and fate) of Armen's presumed-dead wife, but on the whole the book is simply not terribly compelling. ** out of ****