2012 Bookshelf

January 1, 2011

I know, I know. I decided to give myself permission to indulge in a little literary fluff during the semester break. One can only read so much Shakespeare and Hemingway. And I am BIG on reading books and seeing the media. What can I say? I love the intertextuality. And popcorn.

I started this at the end of December but I am including it here since I have not finished. I will admit that I struggled big at the start. The writing is elementary and predictable at times, but there is a great deal of literary value to be found—especially for the young adult reader, as is the intended audience. The plot is clever, intriguing and culturally relevant. The main character is complex and well developed. The novel provides much to talk about and in fact seems to be a meta-critism in the way it evaluates our cultural practices of exploiting people for entertainment, while doing exactly that!

[Clever]

Meaning, the book is the very thing it so harshly criticizes. There’s a nice hunk of “book club” dialogue for you right there! Have you read it? What do you think?