Cecil Castellucci

This was delightful, from the little French touches in Katy's emails home, to the whirlwind that is Lake.

Katy's summer visit to her punk rocker dad in LA gives her glimpses into her mother's past, and the possibilities for her own future. This story is about not conforming to nonconformity, finding you own level of loud, and talking when you're angry.

What I enjoyed most was that Katy was changed by her experience, but she still remained true to her own character, she didn't become a echo of show more her new California friends. show less

Boy Proof is effin great! Seriously 208 pages of awesomeness.

Victoria Jurgen is a great character. She starts off very judgmental of others, and really not sure of herself. She takes on the persona and name of her favorite character Egg from her favorite sci-fi movie, Terminal Earth even donning a cloak. She keeps people at a distance never wanting to give anyone a chance to get close to her. With the help of the new guy Max she realizes that it's okay to be herself. I love how much Egg show more grows throughout the story. She starts peeling off these layers, slowly revealing herself to her peers, and the readers. What can I say, I love Egg!

Ms. Castellucci's writing is wonderful. Straight to the point with great pacing. I felt the story constantly moving. The progression of Victoria's changes is done in such a way that I was excited to see who Victoria really was behind the whole Egg persona. Boy Proof is so much more than just a girl meets boy story, it's about one finding themselves and being happy with who they are. It's about possibilities and being open to them. It's about taking a chance on people.

I really can't say enough great things about Boy Proof.
Love! show less

I admit that when I first started reading this one, it seemed an awful lot like Salvage, but the two plotlines soon radically diverged, and I enjoyed where this one went. I think my favorite bit is the excellent depiction of alien races -- not so much in detailed description, as in completely foreign emotional reactions. It highlighted Tula's own emotional distance, and her coping mechanisms in a way that I found particularly poignant.

Tula Bane hasn't been in control of her life at any point. Her dad is dead and her mother has fallen under the spell of the charismatic Brother Blue, so much so, that she's taking Tula and her younger sister into space to settle on an alien world. At first, Tula is excited because Brother Blue seems to have selected her to become one of his assistants, but when she notices that the seeds destined for planting on the new world aren't being reloaded when they reach an obscure space station, show more she makes the mistake of asking him why.
Brother Blue beats her senseless, leaving her for dead. Tula comes to in time to witness the destruction of her family when the colonizing ship is blown to pieces shortly after launch. She's alone and penniless on a station that's more an afterthought than anything of importance. It circles a mined-out planet. At first, she's numb, but it doesn't take long for her to figure out how to survive. This involves a bit of theft, some deceit and a growing skill in trading favors for bigger ones, in large part because of her friendship with fellow wheeler-dealer, an alien known as Heckleck. She also begins an interesting relationship with the station boss, an alien named Tournour. It's one she can't quite figure out until the end of the book.
When three teens, survivors of another space disaster, land on the station, Tula begins realizing that they may be her way of getting revenge for Brother Blue's betrayal and beating, but it's been quite a while since she's been around humans and this makes connecting with them challenging. The fact that each of them, Els, Reza and Caleb all want different things, not only from her, but in terms of revenge for having been betrayed themselves, further complicates her figuring out what to do and who to trust.
I like this story, but had to re-read the last two chapters in order to make up my mind that I did. There's serious room for a sequel, but it does work as a stand-alone. Tweens and teens who like unusual settings, science fiction and are okay with a slightly ambiguous ending will enjoy this book. show less