Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

Not that it’s not the 7th, but I’ve had the most miserable sore throat; it came with a heaping side of exhaustion and a congested sauce, and I haven’t had it in me to do much of anything beyond the necessities. (That being laundry, dishes, and feeding people, although I did pack away all of the nativities yesterday.) I finished Whitney Gardner’s Long Distance last night, however, and it will make my 12-year-old sick buddy’s day if I review it and hand it over. If my review is less than stellar, well–blame a still foggy brain.

Long Distance has all of Fake Blood‘s bizarre, fantastical appeal; Gardner marries realistic fiction with, umm, not realistic fiction absurdly well. Long Distance, however, seems to have less specific humor; where Fake Blood seemed to spend quality time having fun with elements of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, Long Distance has a more general summer-camp-tropes-meet-campy-sci-fi vibe to it. (Either that, or I’m not familiar with its more specific references, which is actually entirely possible.) Vega’s devastation at leaving her best friend behind in her move makes her instantly sympathetic, and while I took much longer to warm up to Gemma, I found Qwerty and Isaac quickly likable. This is a solid intermediate graphic novel, with fun twists and an unexpected but fabulous outcome; I’m expecting my 12-year-old to devour it, while I found it completely worth my time as well.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I might finally find the gumption to start packing away my Christmas tree ornaments…