Bust magazine
Feb/Mar '07
OK, so this magazine is soooooo awseome. How can you not love a magazine that includes:
- three soup recipes
- instructions to remove various stains (i.e. red wine, chocolate, blood)
- an article discussing how it is expected that young Hollywood starlets will become alarmingly thin at one point or another, while male actors are not assumed so
- an article disproving various myths about women and dating (i.e. the myth that men don't want women to make the first move, or the myth that men don't like women who earn more than they do)
- an interview with Gwen Stefani
- a doula’s guide to giving birth
- an expose on the surprising history of bridesmaids (including tones of pictures of the awful dresses they have had to wear)
I think this magazine is an excellent alternative to more superficial magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Vogue (not that there is anything wrong with those magazines, but this one would work in tandem with them, to provide a more complete spectrum of interesting information). The models in this magazine aren't necessarily any less thin than those in Cosmo or Vogue, but the articles seem a lot more practical and there are just less images of model-women modelling clothing or posing, and a lot more interesting graphics. And while there are a lot of ads (including some for cigarettes) they also have buying info for a lot of the totally cute items they show in their articles, a lot of which can be purchased easily on websites, which is dangerous for people like me with a credit card and shopaholic tendencies.
In any case, this would be a good magazine for ages 15 and up, for the sorts of teen girls who aren't necessarily fans of Gap clothing or top 40 music... and also for those who are, I guess. Gwen Stefani isn't exactly on the cutting edge of the music scene - but the interview with her is really thoughtful and interesting and makes you see her as a fun, interesting, ambitious woman and not just the glamorous media image she presents. Anyway, this is a cool magazine, and I think I might find myself purchasing more issues in the future.
Rating: Great for teen girls aged 14+
Note: I made the Jewish chicken soup recipe included in this magazine and it tastes sooooooo goooooood
By Bill Willingham
So, this is the first graphic novel in a series that transplants fairy-tale heroes to something resembling our current world. I am unclear about how they are existing here, exactly, but that isn't really the point. However, I will try and explain it, as far as I understand:
All the fairy-tale people (Snow White, Cinderella, The Blue Boy, Big Bad Wolf, Bluebeard, Rose Red, Jack ["and the beanstalk"], King Cole, Prince Charming, et al) call themselves "Fables" and they were all at some point recently, kicked out of their fairytale realm by a mysterious villain we don't know much about. When they were sent to our world, there was a general amnesty declared against all of their crimes from the fairytale realm [i.e. Big Bad Wolf eating the grandmother; Jack killing the giant; Bluebeard killing all of his wives] and now they exist within our world and also separate from it. They call normal people
Snow White is the honorary mayor (King Cole is officially in charge, but he is more of a figurehead). When Snow's sister, Rose Red, goes missing and all that is left is a CSI-esque blood-spattered crime scene - Bigby Wolf (who is Big Bad Wolf in human form) goes to investigate. His investigation shows us a whole bunch of suspects and basically introduces us to all of the fairy tale characters.
I really, really like the character of Bigby Wolf. He is this wise-cracking tough guy in the mode of Wolverine from X-Men (I guess they also have in common certain wolf characteristics). I am not sure why Bigby is shown in so many scenes clad in a) a towel, b) underwear, or c) a swimsuit - but I can't say I really minded. Snow White is also a great foil for him - a total femme fatale who won't take crap from anyone. I guess this whole graphic novel is like a melange of fairy-tales, postmodernism, and noir - and if that doesn't appeal to you, then you are very different from me.
So, anyway. In terms of using this title for YAs, I would say it is more for older teens than younger - like say, age 16 and up. There is a sex scene involving Prince Charming where all their bits are covered with a sheet, but still, younger teens might find the noir tone and some of the sexual innuendos kind of off-putting.
Rating: Good for teens aged 16 and up, although I would place this in my adult collection, rather than the YA collection
Gossip Girl: A Novel
By Cecily von Ziegesar
Audiobook read by Christina Ricci
So, I had heard a lot about these books before I "read" this one (on audiobook) and I was actually pleasantly surprised. I had anticipated shallow, vapid, mean characters doing horrible things - but the main characters were actually quite sympathetic, and there was genuine character growth (at least for the Serena character).
Basically, the story centers on the rivalry between ex-best friends Serena and Blair. Serena was always more beautiful and popular, but when she moved to boarding school, Blair took over as Queen Bee. Then Serena is kicked out of boarding school and Blair, threatened by her appearance, spreads vicious reasons about why Serena was kicked out - while Serena just wants to be friends with Blair again.
Anyway. There are other characters, like the non-rich Dan, who loves Serena in secret; Vanessa, a goth girl who loves Dan in secret; Blair's boyfriend Nate, who loves Serena in secret; and Dan's sweet sophomore sister Jenny who doesn't know what she's getting into by befriending Blair and Serena.
This was an OK audiobook - Christina Ricci's bored, Valley-girl drone suits the characters and storyline. Every few chapters, a different voice actress comes on (with obnoxious techno music in the background) to dish gossip as the anonymous "Gossip Girl" -- either talking about things which we just saw happen, or giving hints as to the events yet to come. I haven't read any of these actual books, but I guess in the books, GG's monologues are in the form of an online blog or something.
Anyway. I can see why girls would like these books - everything is sooo over-the-top with the teen characters drinking martinis in bars; smoking all the time; wearing fabulous outfits; going to art openings and attending chic parties - it is totally escapist and the hint of "badness" probably just lures in the readers. While there is some sexual content, the only actual sexual scenes are handled with awkwardness and humour - reminding you that these characters really are just 16 or thereabouts.
Rating: Obviously girls aged 13 and up are devouring these books; and that is probably the target audience
By "Natalie Standiford"
I read this because I had read the first book in this series, and I wanted to see how this would stack up. (You may recall I found the first one to be Hilariously Awful)
And you know what? Either these girls are growing on me, or the author figured stuff out better, but this one was quite a lot better than the first one. Maybe the first one had to set up so many characters and situations, this one was freed up to just explore the plot.
It follows the same formula as the first book, alternating points of view in chapters between best friends Holly, Madison, and Lina. Each chapter also starts off with a brief horoscope that foreshadows the events to come in that chapter.
Continuing from the first Dating Game novel, Holly is now second-guessing hooking up with nice guy Rob (who drives her crazy asking permission every time he wants to kiss her); Madison is still pining after unattainable senior Sean; while Lina is hopelessly in love with their teacher.
Madison gets some character growth in this book, evolving from the love-struck girl desperate for popularity in book 1 to developing her artistic talents in this book (and meeting a cute artist boy who helps her move on from Sean, sort of). Holly is also more developed here - in the previous book, all we really knew was that she was a blond bombshell who wouldn't take crap from anyone. Her storyline of wanting to get rid of Rob to realizing maybe she was too hasty in trying to break up with him, will probably ring true to a lot of girls. Finally, Lina gets the most cringe-worthy moments as she finds her beloved teacher's on-line personal ad and starts e-mailing him, pretending to be a film student in grad school... and then she agrees to meet him! You are cringing but obsessively reading on to see how that trainwreack will go over.
Anyway, this is a much better book than the first one, in part because there is a lot less casual use of drugs and alcohol (maybe there were complaints about this in the first one? It wasn't even the drug and alcohol use that bugged me there, but the fact that it didn't really have to be there and seemed to be trying to be "cool" or something to impress readers). I would put this series in the same category as the "Mates, Dates" books, not quite as good as the Georgia Nicolson books, not as trashy as the "Gossip Girls" books...
Rating: A nice, sweet pick for girls ages 12 to 14.
By Maureen Johnson
Okay, I had read (and enjoyed) Maureen Johnson's three earlier books (Key to the Golden Firebird, Bermudez Triangle, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes) and this is a really big departure from her earlier books. Which is a good thing, I think, because it probably gets tiresome to write uplifting chick lit romance titles - and this is very far from that mold.
Devilish is the story of teenage genius Jane, who does well academically but had bad attitude has not endeared her to the teachers at her all-girl's Catholic school. She doesn't mind, though, content with her anti-establishment ways - although her best friend Ally is desperate to be popular. Desperate enough... to sell her soul to a devil, masquerading as one of their schoolmates.
The selling of the soul happens fairly early on, and the rest of the book centres on Jane figuring out how to help her friend. Along the way she befriends a cute boy who may or may not be a vampire (but who is definitely undead in some capacity), a mysterious order dedicated to fighting demons, and a large number of evil historical figures who want her to join with them. The story is quite goofy in places, and then adventure-y in others - kind of a similar balance to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer show.
Jane is a rootable heroine, and the supporting characters are all interesting, if some come across as a little shallow. And I am not sure why Jane is such good friends with Ally in the first place, when our only glimpses of pre-deal-with-the-devil Ally show her to be an anxious, unpleasant character. But it is nice to see a book about the strength of two girls' friendship, and I also enjoyed how Jane comes to realize that she is better off without the ex-boyfriend she spends much of the book pining after.
Overall, I think this is a pretty solid read, on par with Maureen Johnson's other books. But, like her others, I didn't completely buy into the characterizations of the main characters - maybe her style is just kind of distanced from them emotionally. None of her books are my all-time faves (although 13 Little Blue Envelopes is seriously great, and definitely in my top 20) and this one probably lands somewhere in the middle.
However - vampire novels are making a resurgence for teen girls, so this is a very timely publication and will probably do very well.
Rating: A good pick for girls ages 12 to 16, especially those who already read Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" and are looking for another contemporary vampire-style novel.
No. 362 (Jan. 4-17, 2007)
So, I picked up the January edition of Shout magazine, which is a British teen girl's magazine, and the reason I got this one was it came with a free gift!
What I got was a double-sided eye crayon and sharpener, and apparently if I mix the two colours (purple and pink) together, I will get "stormy eyes." Next issue comes with mascara AND lip gloss, so I will look out for that. This magazine is published every TWO WEEKS in the U.K., which seems insane, especially if you think about how much makeup you could amass if you subscribe to every issue.
Anyway, I thought this magazine was fantastic. Firstly, when you open the front cover, there is a quiz on one side, and the table of contents on the other. I am so used to magazines where the inside pages are all filled with ads, but theis magazine actually doesn't have ANY ads (except for the next month's issue). Maybe they get advertising money from the companies that give them free cosmetics? And obviously they mention brand names in their fashion spreads, but it is curious that there aren't ANY ads in here.
This magazine comprises basically of:
a) quizzes (i.e." are you a Laguna Beach babe?")
b) pages of celebrity photos with funny captions on them (i.e. "time to put the Dick Whittington costume away for another year!")
c) embarrassing stories
d) advice columns
e) "journalism" stories ("my stepfather is only 18!")
There are A LOT of embarrassing stories and advice columns, which I think would really interest teen girls - seeing what problems other people are having, and maybe finding advice to help with a problem you are going through. What appeals to me especially about this magazine is that it is British - so it is all SIMILAR to stuff here, but different and foreign enough to make it cooler. When you look at a spread about how brightly coloured tights are what's in these days, you can imagine girls in England walking around wearing them - while anyone who wore them here would just look strange. (I imagine probably girls in England aren't actually walking around in the outfit suggestions given in this magazine)
Anyway, I would recommend this magazine to girl ages 12-15, who want something cooler than J-14 or Bop or Seventeen.
airdate: February 6/07, CW network
So, I have to start off by saying that I adore this show. The first season of Veronica Mars is brilliant, brilliantly executed, brilliantly performed, brilliantly written, amazingness. The second season teetered and tottered, but had some moments of brilliance, and I love the show so much I kept watching. Now, it is the third season, which I think is quite a bit better than the second season. My one regret is that no local networks air this show, so I have to wait anxiously till the day after each new episode to download it so I can keep up to date.
Briefly, this show is about Veronica Mars, the teenaged daughter of a private investigator. After solving the mystery of her best friend's murder (season one) and a fatal school bus crash (season two), she is now in her first year of university and currently working on helping her father solve the murder of the school dean. Like the similar Buffy the Vampire Slayer - although there is an overarching mystery plotline, each week she solves other, smaller cases while still working on the big mystery.
This episode, "There's got to be a morning after
pill," involves a good blend of the mystery-of-the-week as well as the
mystery of the dean's murder. It was interesting watching this knowing
I was going to be writing this critique, though, because I think I saw
this one through less rose-coloured glasses than usual. I mean, the
final episode of 2006 ("Spit 'n' Eggs"), where she finally solved the
mystery of the campus serial rapist - was brilliant on the level of the
season one finale. Suspenseful, good use of the supporting cast, etc.
So I am not saying that this isn't a great show - but this episode kind
of highlighted what is the most ridiculous about the series currently.
Firstly - the cast are clearly much older than 18. When they talk about getting fake IDs to go drinking, I wonder what bartender would ever id people who are clearly at least 25. Veronica and her boyfriend Logan, and her arch-nemesis Madison Sinclair, all look their real ages - which I believe is about 28 in each case. They are great actors, but clearly not 18. At one point when Veronica refers to herself as a teenager - I mean, it is ridiculous. Kristen Bell, as perky as she is, and as short as she is, is clearly well past being a teenager.
There was also a conversation early on between Veronica and her boyfriend Logan, where they are discussing what both will wear for their fancy dinner out. They laugh ironically about Veronica going to a spa and getting a brow shaping and other services - but the show's lingering close-ups of Veronica's perfect make-up, stylishly coiffed blonde hair, and expertly manicured fingernails really make that whole line of dialogue ridiculous - she is really not the tomboy that the script pretends she is. And after they break up in this episode, Logan mopes around the penthouse suite of a hotel where he is living, drinking what looks like gin and tonics from a glass with ice - like any 19 year old would be doing that.
But it is obviously a TV show, and a stylized TV show in the style of film noir, so it's not like they are attempting to pass any of this off as reality. The mystery of the week this episode included a preacher's daughter who had been unexpectedly pregnant, but then miscarried after someone slipped her the abortion pill, and Veronica's attempts to figure out who slipped her the pill. Now, this is a show that has dealt very frankly with date rape, rape-rape, murder, teenage pregnancy, sexual relationships between high school students and teachers, etc. So I found it refreshing to see a show deal realistically with unexpected pregnancy in undergraduate college - the pregnant girl had been going to get an abortion, but one of the possible baby daddies would only finance it after a paternity test came back, and the other supported her and even proposed to her. It turns out that her father is an evangelistic minister - but even he was presented as a friendly, helpful sort of guy - just as friendly and helpful as the woman in the women's clinic. It was nice to see abortion dealt with in such an even-handed way, after seeing SO MANY EPISODES of other shows where a character intends to get an abortion, then decides not to at the last second, before falling down the stairs and miscarrying naturally. Seriously, if stairs were that dangerous to pregnant women, there wouldn't be any trouble with unplanned pregnancies.
In any case, Veronica Mars the show, is excellent and I will continue watching regardless. This episode was on the one hand, very good thematically and probably good for teens to watch to not feel like they are being preached at. And I totally covet Veronica's gorgeous leather bag and most of her outfits, and of course the Logan character is totally dreamy. On the other hand, teenagers who watch this and anticipate their own college experiences will be similar, will probably be disappointed with actual college. But on a third hand, it is a TV show, and entertaining, and better written than a lot of the other stuff out there.
I would recommend this show for adults, obviously, and probably for teens aged about 14 and up.
ETA: The CW website (www.cwtv.com) has a section where you can buy the clothes worn on Veronica Mars, so probably all of the gratuitous shots this episode of Veronica's cute boots and skirt and bag were at least partially product placement. Which doesn't really bother me as much as Season 1 and 2's Mac computers product placement (the show is now using PCs, for some interesting reason)
