Size 14 is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot

How about a book review?

In August I read Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot, and while I enjoyed it, I mentioned that you always know what you're going to get from a Cabot. I'm somewhat pleased to have been right. I had/have two more Cabots on my shelves and thought I'd just go ahead and get them over with, plus, I wanted something light and easy. Size 14 is Not Fat Either is certainly that.

In Size 14, Heather Wells, former child pop star turned dorm (I mean residence hall) director has yet another murder to solve. This time someone has killed a popular cheerleader and because Heather can't leave well enough alone, she's gotta go poking around in it. Sounds a lot like the plot of Size 12 is Not Fat, doesn't it? (my review here)

Size 14 is definitely weaker than Size 12. Cooper, Heather's landlord/boss/major crush isn't in it nearly as much. Her dad comes back into her life and becomes quite the stereotype. The minute you meet the murderer you know who done it. I did like the nod to Helen Fielding's Mark Darcy with Cooper's sweater, and I loved the new dorm director. Overall, a nice easy book, but nothing I'll ever want to read again, or probably even remember past next Tuesday.

I've still got Big Boned on my TBR, but I have it on good authority that not much changes. I've pretty much decided not to get more Cabots, unless someone I really trust recommends one. Is that you? Can you recommend one? Am I alone with this opinion? Did you read Size 14? Leave a link and I'll add it to my post!


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TBR Day: Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

At the beginning of the year I made myself a list of books that I WOULD read this year. Or else. Queen of Babble is not on the list. I'm having a hard time sticking to any list (or any challenge) because there are just SO MANY great books out there.

This is my TBR pile. The bottom shelf is non-fiction, until the mass markets at the end. The top two shelves are fiction. The books on top are the more recent acquisitions. JUST the books on top are about as many as I read in a year.































I plan to make myself weed the shelves soon. Sadly, these are not the only unread books in my home, the basement is full of books. There are boxes in the garage. There are books by my bed and books by my chair in the living room.

My name is Lisa and I have an addiction.

Ok, so this month's TBR Day post.

I choose Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot because I thought it would be quick and easy. I've been doing Jim Butchers for the previous TBR days, and frankly they are hard to review without spoiling some element of previous books. I've read a few other Meg Cabot's- The Mediator book 1, Every Boy's Got One, and Size 12 is Not Fat. Queen of Babble was easily identifiable as another Cabot. Here's the summary:

Lizzie Nichols, a fashion-history major, wants nothing more than to graduate college and then fly off to London to be with her boyfriend, Andy. But at her graduation party, Lizzie finds out that she can't graduate until she writes a senior thesis. And when she lands in London, Andy turns out to be a liar, gambler, and a fashion disaster. Lizzie, stuck in London with a nonchangeable ticket home, escapes Andy via the Chunnel in hopes that her friend Shari, who is catering weddings for the summer at a French chateau, can help. On the train, Lizzie meets a stranger, Jean-Luc, and spills everything that has happened, only to find out that he is the son of the chateau's owner. At the chateau, Lizzie continues to babble when she shouldn't, ticking off Jean-Luc, shocking his mother, and upsetting a bride. Will she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

First, the characters. They are all pretty much a stereotype. Lizzie is a likable airhead, Shari is the feminist, Chaz is the laid-back philosopher, Jean-Luc is perfect, his girlfriend is a greedy, scheming snot. The chateau (a character in itself) is breathtaking.I liked them all, even Andy the ex-boyfriend. By "liked" I mean that they isn't a bad guy in the bunch, not even the bad guys! I really loved Jean-Luc, but really, who wouldn't?

The plot is good. Aside from a silly subplot about her senior thesis, I thought it was a sweet, believable plot. The senior thesis part seemed to be thrown in for the gimmick of starting each chapter with a sample of it. I pretty much didn't read any of them. It's a light, easy, read. There is nothing to think about or remember or worry you while reading. It's clear from the minute she meets Jean-Luc what is going to happen.

Having read 4 Cabots now, I feel like I know what to expect- a light, fluffy, predictable plot. Nothing complicated and nothing heavy. This book (and it's sequels) are marketed to adults but I think that teens would also enjoy them. They do include sex and references to it but nothing your average teen doesn't already know, and nothing scandalous. Overall, perfect for what it is, but never gonna make your top ten list.

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Weekend update, including The Mediator 1: Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Yes. It's True. I finished a book. Granted, it was a fairly short young adult novel, but hey, it counts! I read The Mediator 1: Shadowland by Meg Cabot. This is my 3rd Cabot and I'm really glad it wasn't my first! The plot is interesting, but the writing is pretty bad. The premise is that Suze is a mediator- she sees ghosts and helps them move on. (Shadowland was published in 2000. The Sixth Sense came out in 1999. Hmmm.) Suze has just moved to a new town and hopes for a new start at a new high school (a la Buffy), but wouldn't ya know it? There's a ghost problem. The book has great potential. I liked the characters just fine. My problem is with the violence. Ok, that's not actually correct. I don't mind the actual violence in the book. I dislike Suze's propensity to threaten to punch (or fantasize about punching) anyone who annoys her. It seems childish. This is a young adult novel, but really, it's not needed at all. If this had been my first Meg Cabot I'd probably stop here. I won't be recommending this one to others and I won't be adding the rest to my wishlist. I might one day check them out of the library, but as it is, I have way too many books to read.

As for other reading, I've read another 50 pages or so of The Book Thief and it is still excellent. I haven't read anything with this style of writing in a long long time. It's just beautiful. I'm in no hurry to finish because then it'll be over. I also started Plum Lovin' by Evanovich today and will likely wrap it up tonight. I did not read any of The Inheritance of Loss for the group discussion. Oops.

I've been doing a little crocheting, and frogging and trying again. I want to make a little something for the new baby in my family, but can't get in a groove.

The most exciting thing of the weekend (of the bookish weekend anyway) is that my awesome husband made us this little logo for my Dystopian Challenge. If you looks really close it's the opening of Fahrenheit 451. How cool is that? Now if he'd just tell us what books he's planning to read for the challenge...

Every Boy's Got One

Every Boy's Got One is the story of Jane and Cal who are in Italy to witness the elopement of their best friends. Jane is a cartoonist and Cal is a foreign journalist, and they have nothing in common. Dislike is instant, before they even know each other's names. Jane thinks the elopement is incredibly romantic, and Cal thinks love doesn't exist. Due to an unfortunate turn of events (of course) they are thrown together to save the wedding. The plot is predictable, you KNOW how it ends from page one. There aren't really any surprises along the way.

This was a very fast book to read. It's written entirely as email and journal/diary entries between the main characters. It took me about 3 hours to read. I think if it had been any longer that element of the book would have gotten tiresome, but it did make the pages speed by. I liked the story, and loved the setting, but if it weren't for the unusual way it was written I think it would be pretty forgettable. This was my second Meg Cabot and I'll certainly read more of them, but I won't be buying up her backlist just yet.

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

I've heard a lot about Meg Cabot. The author of one of the blogs I read daily is her biggest fan. She wrote The Princess Diaries. How could I not have heard about her? Several weeks (ok, months) ago I purchased this book on the buy 3 for the price of 2 table at Borders. This is one of the few books I've bought new in months. It sat there forever, mocking me for paying money and then not reading it.

Last weekend I woke up before either boy. Mike was sleeping on the couch, Tristan was in his crib. I didn't want to wake either of them by wandering the house and the book I was supposed to be reading was in the living room, so I picked this one to fill in. Turns out, it was an excellent book. Very fast paced, very funny, easy to read.

Size 12 is Not Fat is the story of Heather Wells. Heather is a washed up former teen pop star (think Debbie Gibson). She's recently broken up with her fiance (think Justin Timberlake) and is broke. Her mom and manager ran away with her fortune and her dad is in prison. Heather takes a job as assistant director of a dorm, I mean, residence hall, at New York College. When the second freshman girl dies she becomes convinced that it is not accidental and the story takes off from there.

This was very like Nancy Drew for grownups. It's not a dead serious mystery, I'm sure any true mystery fan will know who-dun-it for the first time it's hinted at. Heather is a very likeable character. She's not perfect. She's a size 12. She makes mistakes. The story is told in her voice, and we hear her thoughts all the way through, including when her thoughts stray. I found it to be very easy to read, and will definately read more of Cabot's books. For a quick sample of her writing, her website and blog are here.