The Readventurer
  • Home
  • YA Reviews
  • Adult Reviews
  • Contests and Giveaways
  • Policies
  • About Us
    • Flannery's Challenges
    • Catie's Challenges
  • Contact Us

Stork by Wendy Delsol

8/13/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
Stork (Stork, #1)
Author: Wendy Delsol
Publication Date: 10/12/10
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (Candlewick)

Blurb (GR):
Moving from LA to nowhere Minnesota, sixteen-year-old Katla Leblanc expected the local fashion scene to be frozen in time. What she didn’t expect was induction into the Icelandic Stork Society, an ancient order of women charged with a unique mystical duty. Not only is Katla the youngest member, but Hulda, the society’s omen-guided leader, immediately bestows the coveted Second Chair on her   — a decision that ruffles a few feathers.

As if that weren’t enough, Katla also has to deal with her parents’ divorce and the social aftermath of a bad date with popular but creepy Wade. Katla, however, isn’t one to sit on her designer-jean-clad behind, and soon she’s assigned the fashion column for the school paper and making new friends.

Things would be looking up if it weren’t for editor in chief Jack. Even though they argue every time they meet, Katla is inexplicably drawn to him. Juggling her home life, school, and Stork duties, will Katla be able to unravel the mystery surrounding Jack? More importantly, will she find a dress in time for Homecoming?

Folktales collide with reality in Wendy Delsol’s debut novel, in which one girl finds herself tail-feathers deep in small-town life.

Review:

An image of a smiling happy me at the top of a slide with the sun shining and a rainbow. At the bottom of the slide is me sayin
Oh, hey! Look at that! It's me at a playground! Look at how excited I am at the top of the slide:-) My ponytail is bouncing and I have a huge smile on my face. I'm waving to you;-) Life is so much fun when you are about to go down a slide--it's going to be a big adventure!

Hi. Now I am at the bottom of the slide. My ponytail fell out. There aren't as many MS paint flowers down here, but there IS a semi-barren tree--it has a bird in it though, so things really aren't all bad. And, I mean, even if a slide is bad, it's still good, right?

I think I might do more of my reviews on Paint...I mean, clearly my skills are out of this world. Anyway, Stork was a rather original concept in the YA realm: Katla (which is a little too similar to Katniss and Katsa, both heroines from books I love) moves with her newly divorced mother back to her mother's hometown in Norse Falls, Minnesota. It is a far cry from the life she'd been living as a fashion-obsessed, coffee-saturated California girl and she feels like an outsider. (At this point, we are still in pretty well-worn territory) Wendy Delsol deviates from the beaten path by introducing the fact that Katla is actually a stork who helps match essences of children to a potential mother. Before I went into the story, I was really skeptical about how successful this idea could be. As it turns out, I found the idea rather fascinating, though I had to tone down my cynicism a ton to roll with the story. (mostly because I kept asking myself: Is it only in this town? Or only towns with lots of Icelandic people? How do we have so many unfit parents? These questions are only partially answered) But the description of the process was still intriguing. I wish Delsol had concentrated this book on the revelation of Katla as a stork and her assimilation into her new high school and relationship with Jack.

Buuuut, she doesn't. Instead it turns out to be the ole good v. evil plotline and you see it coming from a mile down the track. And the love is epic predestined love and, while the romantic interest is rather adorable, it started to feel cheesy. I definitely enjoyed listening to this one and I kind of hope the author will continue writing books set in Norse Falls--I just hope they won't be trying so hard to be everything to everyone. I mean, this book has ALL of the following:moving,divorce, possible pregnancy of main characters, MAKEOVERS!, a school dance, a hiking trip,secret meetings,a childhood accident, mythology/folklore, mean girls, her mother's new boyfriend,FASHION(if you are annoyed by constant mentions of brands and outfits, avoid this one),a character death, AND foreverlove.

I am tired from just writing that list. It's a good thing I'm still sitting on that slide:-) I did enjoy it. Katla is funny, and I even caught myself laughing out loud a few times.

3/5 stars
Picture
0 Comments

    Archives

    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    Abuse
    Addiction
    Angels
    Anthologies
    Audiobooks
    Aussie Ya
    Boarding School
    Bullying
    Cancer
    Catie's Y.A. Reviews
    Catie's Y.a. Reviews
    Christmas
    Contemporary Ya
    Cowboys
    Crime Solving
    Cross-dressing
    Deafness
    Death And Dying
    Depression
    Divorce
    Drugs And Alcohol
    Dystopia
    Dystopian
    Fairy Tales
    Family Issues
    Fantasy
    Favorites
    Friendship
    Frustrating
    Funny
    Geniuses
    Ghosts
    Graphic Novel
    Graph/Pic Review
    High School
    Historical Fiction
    Illness
    Illustrated
    Lgbtq
    Magic
    Middle Grade Fiction
    Music
    Mystery
    Necromancer
    Newbery Medal
    Paranormal
    Parent Issues
    Problems
    Psychiatric Issues
    Published: 1963
    Published: 1978
    Published: 1991
    Published: 1992
    Published: 1994
    Published: 1998
    Published: 1999
    Published: 2000
    Published: 2002
    Published: 2003
    Published: 2004
    Published: 2005
    Published: 2006
    Published: 2007
    Published: 2008
    Published: 2009
    Published: 2010
    Published: 2011
    Published: 2012
    Publisher: Aladdin
    Publisher: Allen & Unwin
    Publisher: Black Dog Books
    Publisher: Blackstone Audio
    Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
    Publisher: Brilliance Audio
    Publisher: Candlewick Press
    Publisher: Candlewick Press
    Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab
    Publisher: David Fickling Books
    Publisher: Delacorte
    Publisher: Delacorte
    Publisher: Del Rey
    Publisher: Dial
    Publisher: Dutton
    Publisher: Farrar Straus And Giroux
    Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
    Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
    Publisher: Feral Dream
    Publisher: First Second
    Publisher: Harlequin
    Publisher: Harper Children's Audio
    Publisher: HarperCollins
    Publisher: HarperTeen
    Publisher: Henry Holt
    Publisher: Hyperion
    Publisher: Katherine Tegan
    Publisher: Knopf
    Publisher: Lee & Low Books
    Publisher: Little Brown
    Publisher: Lothian Books
    Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
    Publisher: Penguin Australia
    Publisher: Point
    Publisher: Puffin
    Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
    Publisher: Scholastic
    Publisher: Simon Pulse
    Publisher: Simon Spotlight
    Publisher: St. Martin
    Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
    Publisher: Subterranean Press
    Publisher: Tor
    Publisher: Viking Australia
    Publisher: Viking Juvenile
    Publisher: Young Picador
    Pusblisher: Arthur A. Levine
    Relationships
    Religion
    Reviewed: 2010
    Reviewed: 2011
    Reviewed: 2012
    Road Trip
    Romance
    Science Fiction
    Setting: Boston
    Setting: California
    Setting: Canada
    Setting: China
    Setting: England
    Setting: Germany
    Setting: Minnesota
    Setting: New Jersey
    Setting: New York
    Setting: Ohio
    Setting: Oregon
    Setting: Paris
    Setting: Pennsylvania
    Setting: Prague
    Setting: Seattle
    Setting: Seattle
    Setting: Turkey
    Setting: Virginia
    Setting: Washington
    Setting: Wyoming
    Sex
    Sexual Abuse
    Short Stories
    Space
    Surfing
    Time Travel
    Unicorns
    Urban Fantasy
    Vampires
    Verse
    War
    Werewolves
    World Building
    Young Adult
    Young Adults
    Zombies

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.