Karen Finneyfrock

Last year, the mean girls picked on Celia, but this year she has decided to be Dark. Celia the Dark doesn't let anyone push her around, and she's determined to come up with a brilliant, poetic plan for revenge on the girls who bullied her. Of course, dealing with bullying and social ostracism isn't as simple as all that, and when you throw in complications like parents going through a separation that might end in divorce, and a new friend who is just coming out of the closet -- well, it all show more adds up to quite a year for Celia. Will her Dark outlook see her through?

Going in, I expected this book to dish out the teenage angst, and it does -- but what I didn't expect was that it would also be sweet and sometimes funny. Finneyfrock creates great, pitch-perfect teenage characters, but she's also able to pull out a bit of the ridiculous nature of high school (think Ferris Bueller's Day Off, for comparison). Enjoyable all the way through; this is an author I'll be sure to watch! show less

What happens when you cross improvisational theatre with a literary event looking to create a truly collaborative novel? For me, the answer to that question is Hotel Angeline, a novel written in chapters penned by each of 36 participating authors - including two chapters with a graphic approach to the story - over the course of 6 days. A writing marathon, if you will. The end result: a fun, refreshing and quirky coming-of-age story that has its unexpected left turns while still retaining a show more unified, collective voice.

The story focuses on 14 year-old Alexis Austin, our narrator. Alexis lives in the Hotel Angeline, a run down residential hotel/apartment building her mother Edith runs, with Alexis' assistance, on Seattle's Capitol Hill. The Hotel Angeline has an interesting past, as a former mortuary, and an eccentric group of residents that are as much a part of the building as the creaky stairs and the bad plumbing. While only fourteen, Alexis has been doing more around the hotel to help out since her mom became sick. When one of the residents, LJ, informs Alexis of a phone message he took for Alexis' mom, Alexis takes on adult responsibilities in an effort to keep the life she knows at the Hotel Angeline.

That is all I will mention about the plot as it is difficult to summarize the plot without giving away the interesting plot developments. I loved this novel for a number of reasons. First off, The characters are fantastic. Second, the story is unpredictable, which provided an extra level of interest for me as I am not a fan of formula plots where I can predict what will happen next. Third, it is not just a coming-of-age story. It has a nice mix of mystery, YA, fantasy, comedy and tragedy. Lastly, I loved the fact that you could feel the story shift and develop in unique and wonderful ways under the pen of each author as they took they turn picking up the story where their fellow authors had left off, and just running with it!

If you are expecting exceptional literature, well, as mentioned in the forward written by Garth Stein, "It was never our intention to accomplish in six days what took James Joyce eighteen years to accomplish with Ulysses; we knew we were not writing a literary masterpiece. It was our intention to build a solid, fun story that was a collaboration between three dozen writers, various editors, and an audience both live and virtual - what we created was a community." I think the group hit their mark with Hotel Angeline and I can confidently say that this is a novel I recommend for anyone that is looking for a fun, offbeat and endearing coming of age story. show less

My initial interest in this book came about through my love of Karen Finneyfrock's poetry, but it grew once I learned that this book was created as a part of The Novel: Live. The project was an attempt to have 36 writers take part in a week-long writing marathon live on stage, in which the story would be passed from writer to writer and result in a complete novel. Hotel Angeline is the result of those efforts.

Due to the nature of its creation, there are some holes in the plot here and there show more and some slight disjointedness, and you definitely get a taste of each writer's style (one author presented their chapter in comic book format), which was most recognizable in the dialog. But I was surprised by just how coherent the story is. Each chapter is by a different author and most are written from Alexis' point of view, but her character remained consistent. She's a girl caught up in the madness of her situation, who becomes very lost very quickly.

There are a slew of interesting characters, including a woman who lives as a pirate, Habib the rave, LJ the not-all-there hippy, and many more. If you ignore the unique process of creation, you still have a good story thats twists into surprising and unexpected directions with an unlimately satisfying conclusion. A good read. show less

I thought the Sweet Revenge of Celia the Door would be a nice fluffy book for me to read in between Serious books. But it is a lot more than it appears on the surface. Celia is one of the most endearing characters I have had the pleasure of meeting, and I really rooted for her, and her new friend Drake as well.
This is a great book for teenagers especially, as it is so honest about what it is like to be a teenager. I wish I had this book when I was in high school. I'll love Celia forever.