Violet on the Runway by Melissa Walker

Published in 2007. 220 pages.

A wallflower in the spotlight can do two things:
wilt - or blossom ...
This first in the currently three-volume Violet series was an quick, enjoyable YA read for me. I have almost no interest in fashion or modeling, but I could relate to the characters and the storyline anyway. Trying to find one's place in the world and to understand where one belongs are universal human experiences, I think, whether you are a tall, skinny Chapel Hill High School senior who wants to be one of the popular girls - like Violet - or a quiet book-blogging accountant and mother of three - like me.

While some YA novels are profound reading experiences for me, others - like this one - are simply escapist fun, exactly what I need at times. I will definitely check out Violet By Design and Violet In Private!

Other book bloggers' reviews of Violet on the Runway: If you have read and reviewed this book, I would love to link your review here. Please leave me a comment or email me your link!

• Thoughts of Joy (February 29, 2008)

2008.54

The Plain Janesby Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Published in 2007.
176 pages (according to amazon.com, as the pages are not numbered).

I first heard about the young adult graphic novel The Plain Janes from Dewey, who reviewed it and then sent a copy to me and my daughters. (Thanks again, Dewey!) Sugar Plum (age 12) read the book the same day it arrived, immediately emailed the author because she liked it so much, and claimed our copy as her own. Last month I happened upon the book in Sugar Plum's bedroom and decided it was time for me to read it. I started it late one Friday before bed and finished it the next morning. Like Sugar Plum, I fell in love with the book!

The Plain Janes is a story about art, fear, belonging, being yourself, and making a difference. I think those are topics to which each of us, regardless of age, can relate. The Plain Janes is Castellucci's first graphic novel, but a sequel Janes in Love is due out soon.

I'm new to the world of graphic novels - but I've so enjoyed the ones I've read so far (two volumes of Fashion Kitty, American Born Chinese, and this one). I'm also going to check out some of Castellucci's novels.

2008.50

Like I Need a Hole in My Head

Who: Hosted by Joy
What: Read 12 books that are the first in any series.
When: January 1 to December 31, 2008.
Why: Because I am addicted to challenges!

My Preliminary List

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables

Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale
The Goose Girl

Cardcaptor Sakura by Clamp
Cardcaptor Sakura 1

Carlotta Carlyle Series by Linda Barnes
A Trouble of Fools
(I discovered this series from this review.)

Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Series
by Julia Spencer-Fleming
In the Bleak Midwinter

Cliff Janeway Novels by John Dunning
Booked to Die
(I keep hearing good things about this series from booklogged.)

Cork O'Connor Mysteries by William Kent Krueger
Iron Lake

Frank Clevenger Series by Keith Ablow
Denial

The Ink Trilogy by Cornelia Funke
Inkheart

The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson
The Kingdom Keepers

Lincoln Rhyme Series by Jeffrey Deaver
The Bone Collector

The Sunday Philosophy Club Series
by Alexander McCall Smith
The Sunday Philosophy Club


By the way, I'm attempting to keep track of the series I read here. (It's definitely a work-in-progress!)