. Athena's Books: Totally YA Tuesday...Alex Awards
Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Totally YA Tuesday...Alex Awards




The Alex Awards are given to 10 Adult Fiction books with strong crossover appeal for young adult audiences. So they are not "Totally YA" but great reads none the less for the young and old (like me...although I go crazy for YA either way...so I don't know if I'm part of the old). Maybe Young at Heart is a better word for old! I've only chosen a couple to showcase--The Most Relevant and The Most Entertaining (based on my opinion).



The Most Relevant: The Good Soldiers by David Finkel (non-fiction)

In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it "the surge." Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.

Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad almost every grueling step of the way.

What was the true story of the surge? Was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. Combining the action of Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down with the literary brio of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, The Good Soldiers is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale--not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.



The Most Entertaining: Souless (The Parasol Protectorate) by Gail Corriger

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

1 comments:

Marianne Arkins said...

I completely enjoyed "Soulless" and can't wait to read the next book!