Peeled by Joan Bauer

Aaaah. The country homesy feeling. The apple trees swaying in the wind. A town ghost. A small-time newspaper. For some reason, this entire novel felt like Little House on the Prairie goes upstate New York. And I couldn't shake the feeling.

Hildy Biddles father is dead. But she can remember him through the art of journalism that he loved so well in life. So when the town ghost starts acting up more than usual (knocking small people off of their bikes, appearing in windows, leaving sharpied signs on the front lawn, etc.), she knows she must report the truth for the good of the town. Unfortunately, she only has access to the school newspaper and who would ever take her word over that of the illustrious Pen Piedmont of the town newspaper, The Bee? Is there more to the town ghost than meets the eye? Or has it simply been blown out of proportion and propagandated to sell papers? It seems as if it is all up to Hildy to find out.

I read many positive reviews of this novel and was eager to get started reading it. And when I saw the cover, I was even more intrigued (yes yes. I am one of those people who has an initial reaction based on the cover of a book -sigh-). So I took it out and started. The beginning was alright and I read on. But that was it. It was just alright. I had trouble finding anything that really inspired me or interested me to a point beyond meer polite attention span until the last few chapters. And by that point it was already too late.

I found Hildy to be something of an unbelievable character. She seemed so perfect and obsessed with the legacy of her town. Think Trixie Belden or a younger Nancy Drew. No serious flaws, just some fluff to carry out a plotline. And the characters around her weren't much better. I felt they just weren't any deeper than the page they were on. And I have loved Joan Bauer's work in the past, which made this read all the more disappointing for me.

The plot seemed uncreative and overused. A discarded (or re-run) episode of the Waltons (which I happen to think is a great show). And I say with great sadness that I was wanting so much more overall.

Still, the way the town banded together against the evils of big-city ideals was classic and fun to read at times. It seems that tons of books these days are vampire-slayer-zombie-werewolf-evil faerie- slam bang- alchoholics- suspense- crazy romance fiction. Reading Peeled was almost refreshing in its aura of "sweetness". So I would save it for a rainy afternoon when it's just sitting on the shelf, not expecting (or desiring) more than the quaint, back-country tale it is.

I give this book a 3.5 out of 7 lightnings.

Ze end.

Aella Siofra

*sings* It's the end of the world as we know it

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer is a story about a normal girl with normal high-school problems. Well, not really, but that's how it starts. Miranda has a lot to deal with (*ominously* or so she thinks...). She has to convince her mother to let her take up ice-skating again, the sport that she loves. Her Dad wants her to be the godmother of his second wife's baby. She tries not to let her two best friends (Sammi who has a new boyfriend every week and the disturbingly god-obsessed Megan) drive her crazy. On top of that, she has to bring up her failing math grades. All while listening to the repetitive ravings about the meteor that will hit the moon in a short time. It's all anyone can talk about, and frankly, Miranda is sick of it.

However, this event quickly transforms from the harmless, tell-your-grandchildren moment to a disaster. The meteor hits the moon, but in the process, knocks it closer to Earth. This sets up for tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes world wide with no end in sight. Everything has become complete chaos. Gas prices skyrocket to around $12 a gallon (if you can get it at all). Food is scarce and soon the temperature starts to drop drastically. Miranda and her family soon learn that to survive they have to work together and put family above all else. Even then, they might not make it through...

I have to say, even though I don't usually go for the diary-style of writing I found this book really easy to get into. It was written very well and actually affected me. When I had to put it down to eat lunch, I got to the table and thought "woah, we have food". It even got to the point that I felt really cold. As in, it was 80 outside and I was sitting in my living room covered in a blanket, reading this book.

All in all, I give Life as We Knew It a 5 out of 7.

From the Shadows,