Do you like the birds???

I must admit, the birds are a nice touch.
(In case you are oblivious to what I am writing about, look in the upper right-hand corner...higher...aha! you've found them. Clever!)

TODAY'S AGENDA:
1.) I shall discuss a rather new-ish book that I am surprised no one is making a huge deal out of. Our minds should have exploded by now.

2.) I shall consume a pint of Ben & Jerrys.
YUM.

3.) PICTURE TIME!

okay, here's numero uno.

 Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

What??? Why has no one I've talked to heard about it? It's steampunk and WW1 for GOODNESS SAKES. and there's pictures. Wait, let me rephrase that. AND THERE'S PICTURES. Now who is excited? No?
I loved how Westerfeld took a completely new take on World War 1, because until this time, I had absolutely no bloomin' idea what it was about: ex:
Me to Mom: What was WW1 about?
Mom:
Me to Mom: WHAT was WW1 about?
Mom: Dear, I'm busy.
Me: Was it the one with the Japanese?
Mom: No. That was WW2. I said I was busy. Did you not hear me?
Me: Then it was the Germans.
Mom: Please go bother your (insert genderized sibling). (how very Coraline-ish) And no. That was WW2.
Me: But the Germans and the Japanese were both going for world domination, right? And you can't split the globe in two if you want WORLD DOMINATION. So it had to be two separate wars.
Mom: No. *sigh*
In which I walk away.
That shows you the great extent of my world war history knowledge. But back to the Leviathan.

In case the name of Scott Westerfeld does not conjure any recognition whatsoever, he's the one who wrote the Uglies books. You should have read it by now, but in case you haven't, clickity on the linkity.

Leviathan's two main characters are a boy and a girl (no, REALLY?)--Aleksander Ferdinand and Deryn Sharp, a girl who's impersonating a boy (no, REALLY?) on a biologically engineered air-ship that resembles a whale (wait, WHAT?). Okay, sound interesting? I don't really want to give a summary, though.

The idea itself of the countries of Europe battling each other with robots (the Clankers) and genetically altered animals (Darwinists) is enough to spark some sort of interest, not to mention the marvelous writing of Westerfeld combined with PICTURES. Whoa. And one of the best parts is that Deryn Sharp is not stereotypical. I know, *sighs of relief*. Of course, Deryn is boy-ish, but it really doesn't strike me as horribly manly or I'll-snap-someone's-head-off-if-you-try-to-put-deodorant-on-me. I mean, some books talk about girls who want to be boys and I read those books and expect the girls to suddenly start a burping contest and scratch their bellies. (No offense...)
Aleksander. I'm not sure I see too much of his character except being a little...eh...whiny. Of course, it is hard to let character shine through with such a fast-paced storyline and things being thrown at you left and right, but I still found that I didn't see Aleksander so much as a person than a prop. Definitely the highlight of the book was seeing Westerfeld's imagination really germinate---I mean FLYING JELLYFISH?! It was also good that he was able to balance it with enough history and familiarity.
So...overall??? It's got to be one of the best steampunk books I've ever read, ever. Ever. LINKITY LINK: LEVIATHAN!!
Oh, and look up the trailer, it's AMAZING.
By the way, there's going to be a sequel. On October 5th. Behemouth. I'm going to pee in my pants.