Colorless and Fading Away...

Expected Publication:  April 1st, 2013'

A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine # 1)

By: Jaclyn Moriarty

Arthur A. Levine Books

ISBN-13:  9780545397360

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot's dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds -- through an accidental gap that hasn't appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called "color storms;" a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the "Butterfly Child," whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses...

Review

 

     Madeleine and her Mom have moved away from her Dad, to a new life in Cambridge.  Everything is strange and colorless to her, and her Mom is acting sick and lost, sewing for a living when her only job used to living as a rich socialite with no worries.  Elliot has been searching for his Father for almost a year - ever since him, and a female teacher from Elliot's school went missing.  That happened the same day that Elliot's Uncle John died under mysterious circumstances.  Both of the teenagers are dealing with family issues and complicated friendships, but there is one big difference between them - Madeleine is living in the 'real' world and Elliot is living in Cello, a magical kingdom where colors are dangerous and there are hostile, anti-royalists causing major problems.  When Madeleine discovers a letter crammed into a parking meter and responds on a whim (not believing anything Elliot says, of course) they inadvertently become pen pals.  Carrying each other through some of their most difficult times, Madeleine and Elliot learn the true definitions of friends, family, life, and love.  But when each of them are in mortal danger, can the other find a way to come to the rescue from the other side of the barrier?  I felt like this book was a really odd patchwork of things that didn't quite fit together the right way.  Moriarty's Ashbury/Brookfield series is one of the few Australian teen writings that I can read through, let along like - and I love it very much! But this felt like she was trying to merge the wonderfulness of her realistic, contemporary books written in correspondence, with some very innovative magical world building/writing.  It did not work AT ALL for me as a reader.  It took forever for anything to happen to Madeleine, because it seemed like the majority of the action and focus was going on in Cello, where Elliot was living.  Madeleine's bratty and totally unsympathetic attitude didn't help.  The revelations about her Father and her friends came a little too late for me to connect with her sympathetically as a character.  Elliot was the one I connected with most, but I never felt like I had a good grasp on what was going on in his world.  The color attacks still baffle me and make absolutely no sense whatsoever.  By the time I reached the end of this novel (it took me 3 weeks to slog my way through, when my average is a couple of days!) I was completely disgusted, bored and just glad to be done with it.  I think a lot of people will really like it, needless to say it but I wasn't one of them.  I can't in good conscience completely bomb its rating, when the world building for Cello was halfway decent.

 

VERDICT:  1/5 Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is April 1st, 2013.*

The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield # 2)

Published:  April 1st, 2005

The Year of Secret Assignments (Ashbury/Brookfield # 2)

By: Jaclyn Moriarty

Scholastic

ISBN-13:  9780439498821

(Originally published November 30th, 2003 as Finding Cassie Crazy in Australia)

Told entirely through letters, diary entries, emails, and other writing, Moriarty's novel introduces us to Emily, Lydia, and Cassie -- all students at Ashbury High -- who begin writing to their Brookfield High counterparts through the schools' organized pen pal project. Readers learn quickly that each girl has her own writing style and that at two of the Brookfield boys (Seb and Charlie) seem to be smitten with Lydia and Emily. The only trouble is Cassie's pen pal, Matthew, a shady character who first sends her short, threatening letters and then becomes strangely sweet toward her. Nobody can figure out why Cassie keeps writing to him, but after she has a crushing meet-up with Matthew, Cassie discovers -- with the help of her friends and the Brookfield guys -- that he hasn't been honest about his identity. All could be ended there, but when Charlie helps take revenge and Brookfield High gets mysteriously vandalized, the group comes together to deliver justice and save the endangered pen pal project.

Review

     Cassie, Emily and Lydia are best friends who go to Ashbury High.  Their somewhat crazy English teacher Mr. Botherit has decided to start a pen pal program with their rival school, Brookfield, and the girls are forced to take part in it.  Told entirely in letters, e-mails, diary entries and other scribblings, this book follows the girls through the year charting their relationships with the boys from Brookfield.  Lydia and Emily both begin to form friendships or more with their pen pals, Seb and Charlie.  On the other hand, Cassie's pen pal "Matthew" starts off threatening and then leads he on, lying about who he is and what he wants from her.  But when Brookfield begins getting vandalized, the pen pal project might be destroyed for good.  It's up to the guys and girls to pool together and find out who's responsible for the trouble and fix things for good.  I read this book earlier in the year and I really enjoyed it.  Cassie, Lydia, Emily, Seb and Charlie all have distinctive voices and they develop as characters over the course of the book so much.  I also liked "Matthew" even though he wasn't the best person in the world.  The guest appearances by Bindy McKenzie were absolutely hilarious, she is such an interesting character.  I loved how different all the girls are from each other and how their friendship is strong because of it, not in spite of it.  The whole secret assignments thing made me laugh so hard and it was absolutely adorable! :)  I liked the Matthew Dunlop situation, if only because it brought this book to a whole other level.  My only real complaint is that Cassie was kind of stiffed on a love interest.  This was one of the better books I read this year and the epistolary form is a charming thing in this one.

VERDICT:  3.90/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*

Forget Celia and Move On...

Published: January 10th, 2002
Feeling Sorry For Celia (Ashbury/Brookfield #1)
By: Jaclyn Moriarty
St. Martin's Press
ISBN-13: 9780312287368


Life is pretty complicated for Elizabeth Clarry. Her best friend Celia keeps disappearing, her absent father suddenly reappears, and her communication with her mother consists entirely of wacky notes left on the fridge. On top of everything else, because her English teacher wants to rekindle the "Joy of the Envelope," a Complete and Utter Stranger knows more about Elizabeth than anyone else.

But Elizabeth is on the verge of some major changes. She may lose her best friend, find a wonderful new friend, kiss the sexiest guy alive, and run in a marathon.
So much can happen in the time it takes to write a letter...

A #1 bestseller in Australia, this fabulous debut is a funny, touching, revealing story written entirely in the form of letters, messages, postcards—and bizarre missives from imaginary organizations like The Cold Hard Truth Association.

Feeling Sorry for Celia captures, with rare acuity, female friendship and the bonding and parting that occurs as we grow. Jaclyn Moriarty's hilariously candid novel shows that the roller coaster ride of being a teenager is every bit as fun as we remember—and every bit as harrowing.

Review

   Elizabeth Clarry is always worrying about things, but mostly the whereabouts of her best friend Celia, who runs away from home a lot.  It doesn't help that her parents are divorced, her Dad is a weirdo and her Mom is never home.  Plus her English teacher wants to rekindle the "joy of the envelope" by giving each of them a pen pal from nearby Brookfield High School (where all the delinquents and criminals go to school).  Now Celia has run away again and Elizabeth and the new boy in school have gone after her, to bring her home from the circus (yes, the FREAKING CIRCUS!).  All the while Elizabeth is busy trying to figure out who she is, her growing friendship with her new pen pal Christina and her feelings for boys, her relationship with her parents - just life in all its forms!  This book was a lot of fun!  It was the first book I've read by Jaclyn Moriarty and I truly enjoyed the epistolary format.  The letters, notes and etc. to and from Elizabeth with the other characters were highly amusing.  The ones from her ad-executive Mome were fun, asking her feelings on certain random objects like purple lipstick or socks for her campaigns.  I cracked up majorly when the letters from the imaginary associations showed up, such as Cold Hard Truth Association, Association of Teenagers, and The Secret and Mysterious Association of all that is Secret and Mysterious.  I loved the whole secret admirer sub-plot and Celia's crazy antics were pretty far-fetched but enjoyable.  After reading this book I can honestly say that Jaclyn Moriarty is one of my favorite international authors and Elizabeth Clarry is who I'd want for a best friend if I was back in high school! :)

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*