More Please: Quirky Characters

YA is full of diverse family lives: dead parents, alive parents, divorced parents, straight parents, gay parents, adopted parents, one sibling, dead sibling...you get the idea.

But in my opinion what we need more of are crazy/quirky families that make me laugh and wonder why humans are actually so dull. Like the characters in Arrested Development.

Maybe not even quirky families. Why not just quirky friends? Yes, guys, I am ready for some more comedy in my books. It's almost exclusively what I watch these days and I love it. Mostly for these weird characters I keep talking about.

Some books I can think of that have characters like these: The Raven Boys, Welcome Caller This Is Chloe, Past Perfect, Swim The Fly...and...well, that's all I can think of. What are some of your favorite books with crazy fun characters? Give me recommendations!

Jessica

Nightlight Review

Author: The Harvard Lampoon
Release date: November 3, 2009
Pages: 154
Publisher: Vintage
How I got it: Bought 

About three things I was absolutely certain.First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.Second, there was a vampire part of him--which I assumed was wildly out of his control--that wanted me dead.And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me. 

And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon’s hilarious send-up of Twilight.  

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon looking for adventure, or at least an undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strange events–Edwart leaves his tater tots untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!–Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive? 

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalker-like behavior, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.

Stupid funny, adjective: A type of funny in which things sometimes make no sense, but the audience doesn't care. In a sentence: Will Ferrel always has the BEST stupid funny movies.

Fact: I LOVE stupid funny things. South Park, Monty Python, Will Ferrel movies...it like what reality tv is to most girls my age; it is so terrible but I can't stop watching it nor do I want to. So naturally Nightlight had me LOL-ing, ROFL-ing, and OMGICBWITTIH (OMG I can't breathe what is this this is hilarious)-ing.

Nightlight definitely had its moments when it could've been better, though. I kept waiting for them to talk about Edwort's face a lot, or comment on how poorly Belle handled life without him, but they never did. I definitely felt like they missed a great opportunity for some spot-on humor there, but oh well.

Then they had such great commentary on the original Twilight, like this:

“So, Belle, what's new today?" 

Dad," I said, grasping his hands and looking directly into his eyes. "I'm in the deepest love that has ever occurred in the history of the world." 

"Gosh, Belle. When someone asks you 'What's new?' the correct answer is 'Not much'. Besides, isn't it a little soon to cut yourself off from the rest of your peers, depending on a boyfriend to satisfy your social needs as opposed to making friends? Imagine what would happen if something forced that boy to leave! I'm imagining pages and pages would happen - with nothing but the names of the months on them.”  

And some things they just threw in to make fun of Meyer's writing:

“Listen' he whispered ferociously, like a ferocious breeze or a very gentle hurricane.”  

“Muurp," muurped Edwart.” 

Several things they joked about were just totally different from Twilight, of course. The Harvard Lampoon twisted the story around in any way they possibly could, but most of the time I found what they came up with to be hilarious. Take this for example:

“It suddenly occurred to me that, after all that frolicking in the meadows, he hadn't kissed me. Was it because of the mold that grew in my sinuses?” 

Plot: What plot?

Characters: What total spazzes.

Writing: Not...very good. Purposely, sometimes.

Ending: Kind of strangely sweet?

Mature content: I think there was some swearing? I don't remember anything that struck me as inappropriate, though.

Overall:

No one dared talk to me while reading this because I was laughing so hard and often everyone just assumed I was crazy.

Seriously, this book had me in laughing fits. My little brother kept trying to kick me out of the living room because apparently I was laughing too loud. This definitely isn't a book for everyone, but if you like stupid funny things, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Other reviews:

StoryWings

Poisoned Rationality

Swim The Fly Review

Author: Don Calame
Release Date: April 14, 2009
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Most Appropriate For Ages: 14+
Where I Got It: Bought

Matt Gratton and his two best friends, Sean and Coop, always set themselves a summer-time goal. This year’s? To see a real-live naked girl for the first time. As far as Matt is concerned, they’d have better luck finding the lost city of Atlantis. But seeing a girl in the buff starts to seem like child’s play compared to the other summertime goal Matt sets for himself: to swim the 100-yard butterfly (the hardest stroke known to God or man) in order to impress Kelly West, the hot new girl. So what if he can’t manage a single lap, let alone four? He’s got the whole summer to perfect his technique. What could possibly go wrong?

There was a lot of talk of YA not being teen-guy-friendly a few weeks ago, and those who say that have obviously never read Swim The Fly. This is a complete and total guy-book that--apparently--girls can enjoy too.

I may not seem like it on here, but I am the type of girl that is always up for a "that's what she said" joke. And there's a lot of those and similar jokes in Swim The Fly. The humor was pretty much right up my alley, and I was laughing the whole way through.

Matt is a teenage guy. He thinks about sex and boobs about 95% of the time. But I liked him. Calame made it pretty impossible not to like any of the characters, from his Matt's friends to his grandfather to his brother.

When I found Swim The Fly for 2 bucks, I didn't quite know what to expect but I really enjoyed what I found. Light, fast, and hilarious, Swim The Fly is the perfect guy-humor-book that is written in a way that (some) girls can enjoy it too. I cannot wait to dive into the sequel, Beat The Band.

Plot: Fun, and always moves at a steady pace

Characters: So fun.

Writing: Good.

Ending: Sadly, it seemed kind of unnatural and rushed.

Kind Friendly? There was swearing, mentions of sex, masturbating, and making out.
Should I read it? Yes! It was fast and really enjoyable.

Overall:

Outspoken Review

Author: James Vachowski
Release Date: ?
Pages: 117--156 KB (e-galley)
Publisher: Vagabondage Press
Most Appropriate For Ages: 12+
Where I Got It: For review from author

Abraham Lincoln Jenkins is a teenage vandal, social activist, and aspiring revolutionary, but with only four months left until his high school graduation Abraham’s lifelong dream of attending Harvard College is put in jeopardy when he learns that he is still in need of two core credit hours in Physical Education. Unfortunately for Abraham, the only available spaces in a P.E. class are as a cadet in the Army’s JROTC program!

Told almost exclusively through Abraham’s one-sided complaint letters, OUTSPOKEN is the natural result when the War on Terror collides with the War on Christmas.

I really enjoyed Outspoken. With an awesome protagonist and a unique, interesting format of writing, how could I not?

Yes, this novel is written in letters, and while at times it bugged me, mostly because I wanted to know what was going on away from the letters. But overall I liked it, and think it will help the novel stand out in my mind. And it helped that between each letter is a quote. Each of them are fantastic, and because of them I think I'll end up keeping this on my computer to use for future Facebook statuses.

The main character, Abraham L. Jenkins, lives up to the title of the book; he always feels free to openly and sarcastically express his left wing opinions in an extremely right wing town. And while I could never fully connect to his character--one of the cons of the writing format--I had the utmost amount of respect for him. I would love to see more YA characters that are not only smart, but also have such strong political views and applaud Vachowski for doing so.

Outspoken was a super fast, funny read that I'd recommend to anyone with .99 cents and a few hours.

Book Report:

Plot: Well-paced.

Characters: We only really get to know Abraham, but he's really cool.

Writing: Abraham's voice was really authentic.

Ending: Wrapped everything up, but I'll still be hoping for a sequel.

Kid friendly? While I doubt tweens will enjoy this, it's perfectly safe.

Should I read it? Sure. I'm glad I did.

Overall:

  
 

5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin In The Mouth Mini-Review

Author: The Oatmeal
Release Date: March 1, 2011

Pages: 160

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Most Appropriate For Ages: Adult
Where I Got It: For review from Netgalley

In Matthew Inman's 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides), samurai sword-wielding kittens and hamsters that love .50-caliber machine guns commingle with a cracked out Tyrannosaur that is extremely hard to potty train. Bacon is better than true love and you may awake in the middle of the night to find your nephew nibbling on your toes.
Inman creates these quirky scenes for theoatmeal.com, which launched in July 2009 and already has more than 82 million page views. In fact, every 15 to 30 seconds, someone Googles one of theoatmeal.com's creations. Now, 60 of Inman's comic illustrations and life-bending guides are presented in full-color inside 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth (And Other Useful Guides). Consider such handy advice as:

• 4 Reasons to Carry a Shovel at All Times
• 6 Types of Crappy Hugs
• 8 Ways to Tell if Your Loved One Plans to Eat You
• 17 Things Worth Knowing About Your Cat
• 20 Things Worth Knowing About Beer

While possibly offensive to dolphin lovers everywhere, 5 Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin In The Mouth is hilarious. I love theoatmeal.com, and this collection of comics did not disappoint. Loyal fans of the site will recognize a few favorites, as well as some new instant classics. Whenever I wasn't laughing while reading this (which wasn't very often), I was either about to laugh or learning new interesting facts (did you know that vikings thought that when they went to heaven there'd be a goat there waiting to squirt beer into their mouths with his udders?). 5RTPADITM was a quick read that I really enjoyed.

Book Report:

Animation: Good, and it definitely added to the comics.

Writing: Hilarious.

How kid friendly is it? The fact that it's a comic book shouldn't make you forget that this is definitely more aimed at adults.

Should I read it? Yes!

Overall:

Scott Pilgrim Series Review

Release Date for first book: Aug 18, 2004
Publisher: Oni Press
Age Group: T+
Total pages in series: 1208
 Where I got the books: Library
Titles in series: Scott Pilgrim: Precious Little Lies, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness, Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together, Scott Pilgrim Vs The Universe, Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour

 Scott Pilgrim's life is so awesome. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, rollerblading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. But the path to Ms Flowers isn't covered in rose petals. Ramona's seven evil ex-boyfriends stand in the way between Scott and true happiness. Can Scott beat the bad guys and get the girl without turning his precious little life upside-down? 

This series blew my mind with it's awesomeness.

Throughout each book, I chuckled, I "awwwwww"ed, and I was on the edge of my seat as Scott battled with ninja-like moves. The wonderfully unique, fast plot grabbed me immediately.

Each character was hilarious, unique, and I want to hug ALL OF THEM! (It would freak them out so bad...but that's only half of the reason I'd do it.) If I had to pick a favorite, it would be...um...yeah, can't pick one.

Seriously, if what I thought was going to happen actually did in book six, I would've cried, thrown the book at the wall, and emailed Bryan Lee O'Malley in all caps. That is just the kind of loyal Scott Pilgrim fangirl I am. I would read a zillion more of these books, and I'm so sad it's over.

I love this series a million times over. The plot, the writing and animation, the humor, the romance, the characters...I can never say enough good things about Scott Pilgrim.

Plot: WOO HOO!

Characters: WOO HOO!

Writing/Animation: Awesome!

Ending: Perfection...but slightly confusing. (Hopefully re-reading the series will help.)

How kid friendly is it? Well, there's (not explicit) sex, smoking, language, and drinking.

Should I read it? Um, YES!

Overall:

People of Walmart: Shop and Awe Mini Review

Author: Andrew Kipple, Adam Kipple, Luke Wherr

Release Date: September 7, 2010

Pages: 224 (ARC)

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Most Appropriate For Ages: Adult
Where I Got It: From publishers

Tons of –  

• New Photos!
• Bad Decisions!
• WTF Moments!

Plus –

• Fan Stories!
• Celebrities!
• Goats!

As Americans, we hold these truths to be self-evident: We will shop. And when we do, especially at our favorite supercenter, we will wear and do the most bizarre things possible.
From the wildly popular website PeopleofWalmart.com, this photo collection of Americans in their natural shopping habitat (70 percent of which is brand new and never before included on the website) presents people of all shapes and sizes wearing and doing everything imaginable in full view of their fellow shopping public. Plus, for the first time brand-new fan-submitted stories offer the most random experiences you can imagine!

So welcome to a world where no shoes and no shirt are no obstacles, where parking lots are filled with dead deer, Bengal tigers, and old men in thongs riding bikes. Once you meet the People of Walmart, you are sure to fall in love.
-----------------------------
If you've ever been to the popular site, People of Walmart, then you'll know what you're in for with People of Walmart: Shop and Awe: a lot of...interesting, funny pictures with good captions to go along. The first few fan submitted stories didn't impress me all that much, but there are definitely some good ones that had me laughing. At some points my whole family had gathered around to read this along with me, and they were either disgusted (I have never seen such big, exposed "back boobs" in my life) or laughing (oddly enough, one of these men featured in a photo looks a little too much like my dad). People of Walmart: Shop and Awe will be sure to satisfy loyal fans of the site as well as the new crowd that they'll get with the book. It was a whole lot of fun to read!

Even though this is an adult book, would it be OK to give it to my kid? There's quite a bit of language, and one picture where a woman exposes pretend breasts (although at first glance I thought they were real).

 

Vampire Game Vol. 1 Review

Author: Judai

Release Date: January 13, 2009

Pages: 200 (Even though I thought it was a few more...)(Paperback)

Publisher: Tokyopop

Most Appropriate For Ages: 13+

In an epic battle, King Phelios defeats the Vampire King Duzell, but both monarchs are mortally wounded. As the two lay dying, Duzell prophesies that the two will meet again after their death, and vows that he will be triumphant. At least half the prophesy is proven true when Duzell is resurrected 100 years later, as a baby wildcat who is rescued and adopted by Ishtar, who just happens to be the great-granddaughter of his nemesis, King Phelios. Ishtar is a playful girl with an iron will and a penchant for pranks, a trait that distresses her caretaker, Sir Keld, and the dashing, but often bumbling, imperial guard, Captain Darres. Ishtar is not, however, the reincarnation of Phelios, leaving the now feline Duzell to continue his quest for revenge...with the surprisingly cooperative Ishtar as his companion!
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Vampire Game was something that my sister had, and it was the only thing for me to read after I'd finished The Dust of 100 Dogs, but it was better than I'd originally thought it would be!

The plot is somewhat juvenile- I mean, come on, a cat and a princess? And, it was too low on action for my manga tastes. But, other than that it wasn't bad. Definitely original.

The characters were really good! The main character, Ishtar, was pretty much a rude brat. Yet, I still loved her! Duzell provided some good laughs with his sarcastic comments that made me love him too. We didn't hear much from her body guard, Darres, who's past I'm anxious to find out since it really didn't go into much detail about his past in the first volume.

The animation, kinda like the plot line, was juvenile. I'm hoping it evolves throughout the series, because it didn't impress me very much. The dialogue wasn't too bad, though.

I didn't think I would care about the sequel until the ending of volume one, which was a nice little cliffhanger. Overall, this wasn't exactly my type of manga, but I enjoyed it. Definitely one for comedy and fantasy manga fans.