Twisted Quill

We've Moved.

2011-05-01T17:53:00.001-07:00

Twisted Quill has moved to a new site called Timeless Violet. All that it left behind on this blogger site are my reviews.

Thanks,

Sae

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

2011-02-01T04:28:00.000-08:00

Rated: 8 out of 10
Matched by Ally Condie
Published November 2010
(Author Website) (Book Website)
Summary from book website:

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

When we meet Cassia it is the night of her Match banquet. The night that she will learn who she will spend the rest of her life with, who she will have children with, who will be her constant companion. When she stands to see her Match she learns that it is none other then her childhood friend, Xander, handsome, funny, and home. Cassia is extremely pleased with her Match. It couldn't have gone better. She doesn't even plan on looking at her micro card to read more about Xander; she knows him so well after all. But the night she truly decides to pick up and see what is on her card about Xander it isn't Xander that looks back at her through the Port. It's another boy, a different boy, but a boy she already knows. This shakes Cassia to her core. The Society doesn't make mistakes. Why, then, would Ky's picture show up where Xander's should have been?

Matched was marketed as being similar to The Giver in it's seemingly perfect society that truly isn't all that perfect. I have read The Giver, and I've read and Matched. (Sadly I quit working at the library and had to give The Giver back before finishing it. I haven't had the chance or remembered to buy it the few times I've made it to the bookstore in the past few weeks. If Jannsen, of Everyday Reading, joined The Giver party late when she read it at nineteen I joined it almost ten years later. What does that say about me? But, lets move on.) Both are beautiful, and both say so much about life without being overbearing. Ally Condie, the author of Matched, is a wonder writer. Her world and characters felt so small and intertwined that I felt like I could have been one of them. I could have befriended Cassia. I could have fallen in love with her Match Xander. I could completely understand Cassia's inner struggle when it came to coming to terms with the Society she has always known and believed in.

Yes, this is dystopian fiction, and yes it is pretty routine where dystopians are set. A society that is seemingly perfect, a young adult who learns otherwise, who feels betrayed, and is forever changed when she/he learns about the lies they've been feed their whole lives. And, yes, dystopians are being published like crazy, but this book I readily gave away to be read. I felt like I had to share the book. It was beautifully written. It made you think, and honestly I think it falls more along the lines of a mystery that is slowly being unravelled all the while making you think and ponder about of life's most amazing phenomenons, love.

I can't wait to read what happens to Cassia, Xander, and Ky next. I hope everyone gives Matched a try, even if dystopians aren't your thing.

Review: Misguided Angel by Melissa De La Cuz

2011-01-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

Misguided Angel, A Blue Bloods Novel (Book 5)
Author: Melissa De La Cruz

Published: October 2010
Past posts: The Van Alen Legacy (Book 4), The Blue Blood Series

Summary: Book five picks up where book four, The Van Alen Legacy, left off. Schuyler finds Jack who has left Mimi for her. Mimi has vowed to kill Jack for his betrayal, and De La Cruz introduces a new character in the series, Deming.

I have to say that I was really disappointed in where this series is going. The fifth installment of a projected thirteen book series was very much lacking in where it is going. It was a complete filler in a series that is shaping up to fall short of my expectations. Whole plot points, like Bliss and Charles, where placed on the back burner while I wasted 300 pages and hours of my time waiting for the point of this book. Other than to add in Deming to the mix and tell you that Mimi is going to kill Jack for his betrayal not much happened, and I was seriously disappointed in how Jack and Schulyer were presented as a couple. If I had to read them call each other "love" one more time I was ready to throw the book at the wall. It felt like a complete waste of my time.

Perhaps other readers will gobble up filler books while waiting for the actual plot to continue but I won't. I'm not at all happy with wasting my money on a filler novel that made little to no head-way into the actual plot of the series. I don't plan on wasting any more money to find out how the series ends as well. Thanks but no thanks Melissa De La Cruz. I really enjoyed this series up to this point. I know that others reading this review will want me to point out other reasons for disliking this book, but honestly that was it. The writing was the same as it ever was, the characters haven't really changed, and not much happened. That was all it took for me to drop this series.

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher

2010-10-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

Overall: 3 out of 10 stars

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
Received from Around the World Tours

Finn has escaped from the terrible living Prison of Incarceron, but its memory torments him, because his brother Keiro is still inside. Outside, Claudia insists he must be king, but Finn doubts even his own identity. Is he the lost prince Giles? Or are his memories no more than another construct of his imprisonment? And can you be free if your friends are still captive? Can you be free if your world is frozen in time? Can you be free if you don't even know who you are? Inside Incarceron, has the crazy sorcerer Rix really found the Glove of Sapphique, the only man the Prison ever loved. Sapphique, whose image fires Incarceron with the desire to escape its own nature. If Keiro steals the glove, will he bring destruction to the world? Inside. Outside. All seeking freedom. Like Sapphique.

Sadly I just didn't like Sapphique. I marginally liked Incarceron, and that was because I really loved the writing. Fisher's skills with the written word aside I just couldn't get behind the time wasting circles she constantly put the reader and her characters into. I had hoped that in the sequel there would be some romance, some growth in the characters in the beginning, but Finn's pity me attitude throughout the beginning was frustrating to say the least. Claudia's calculating how Finn's behavior would effect her...well, I just couldn't go all the way with this book. It felt way too much like Incarceron, and I didn't like Incarceron enough to want to read in circles and take forever to get anywhere. Although Fisher's writing is good I just always feel like I'm getting yanked around, and like she's taking too long to get to the point.

Sorry guys. As always go to the tour page and see what everyone else thought. Quite a few people liked Sapphique and Incarceron more then I did. You never know! You might like it too.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

2010-10-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

For the first time since starting this blog I'm putting a score on a review. Sometimes I just feel like it would help a lot to put a score on a review. So here I am doing something I didn't think I would do. Go figure.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Overall Score: 4 out of 10

Incarceron- a futuristic prison, sealed from view, where the descendants of the original prisoners live in a dark world torn by rivalry and savagery. It is a terrifying mix of high technology-a living building which pervades the novel as an ever-watchful, ever-vengeful character, and a typical medieval torture chamber-chains great halls, dungeons. A young prisoner, Finn, has haunting visions of an earlier life, and cannot believe he was born here and has always been here.

In the outer world, Claudia, daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, is trapped in her own form prison--a futuristic world constructed beautifully to look like a past era, an imminent marriage he dreads. She knows nothing of Incarceron, except that it exists. But there comes a moment when Finn, inside Incarceron, and Claudia, outside simultaneously find a device--a crystal key, through which they can talk to each other. And so the plan for Finn's escape is born.

From the moment I read the plot to Incarceron I knew I wanted to read it. The very idea held so much potential. I hadn't read any other reviews before I signed up to read the sequel, Sapphique, on an ARC tour. Unfortunately I didn't like Incarceron as much as I thought I would. The backstory was rarely explained throughout the novel (a 400 page novel mind you) and you simply followed along as Claudia and Finn tried to find a way out of their respective prisons.

Why Incarceron exists, outside of creating a so-called paradise, isn't well explained within the confines of the story. Yes, there are notes, bits of letters, and pieces of history in the header of each chapter--which is very creative--but I felt like a lot of those small quotes were used in place of telling an actual history. I kept waiting for someone to give me a backstory on the Era, why the powers that be would decide on a such a drastic change in everyone's lives to halt time as it were. To chose to send thousands of people into a prison that no one would return from. Also, did sending all prisoners to Incarceron instantly stop crime from occurring. Do they chose to send new prisoners from people who break the law Outside, and these people are really the cell-borns? It would make some kind of sense, wouldn't it?

I was left with so many questions that I felt weren't really answered. Instead we were left with a story about a girl who didn't want to get married and a boy that might be the heir to a country he knows nothing about. The book ended and yet I still felt like I just didn't understand the world that Fisher was trying to build. I got the idea, I understood the Era they were trying to recreate, and sort of why it happened, but I wanted to know more.

Finn is your tortured teen who knows, believes, feels that he doesn't belong in a Prison full of thieves and killers. Claudia is a girl who feels the same way, but has no idea how she could Escape. She is trapped just as much as Finn except with prettier dresses and better hygiene. I found so much of this book to be interesting and fun to read, but I also felt like so many words were wasted on not telling us what and why this world existed. Perhaps leaving us with so many questions at the end of Incarceron was Fisher's way of making us want the sequel to answer them. Unfortunately I was left with a half-finished feeling. I liked the story well enough, but if I wasn't receiving Sapphique as an ARC I don't know if I would of bought it on my own.

The writing was beautiful, but I felt all too often that I was being dragged along on a trip that was taking too long. I could have done with a story that was 50 pages less. Like I said it wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. So far the sequel is proving to be just as intriguing as Incarceron, but we'll just need to see how the story goes.

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

2010-10-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

Received from Around the World Tours.

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

I've heard of A Northern Light but never read it. This was my first Jennifer Donnelly novel. To be honest I was not in the mood for a girl that was so depressed and distraught from her brother's death. I wasn't looking for such a sad premise. The thing is when I sign up for a book it's often months in advance, and what seemed so interesting then can hit me at a bad time.

So reading such a sad story about a girl wanted to kill herself because her brother's death tore her family apart so badly was hard to get through. Actually going through such a thing, of course, can't be easy either. In this case Donnelly was doing her job. Andi was a snarky, distraught, and angry teenager. When her father finally comes around to put her mother into a hospital and take her to France I was really to drop the book.

Then the French history came into play. The way that Donnelly wrote about the history, the time, the political turmoil was so vastly interesting. Her characters were so passionate about it that they really made you want to learn about that time. It was, for me, when the story turned around. (Although Andi's statement that even Pre-Kers know about the revolution is a little far-fetched. She's probably being just a little snot, but still.)

Needless to say that the story took a turn for the better. I loved what I read, and knew from the moment that Andi saw her little brother in that painting that it would be amazing. I will definitely be buying this book and re-reading it. It brought a time in history to life as well as interweaving Andi's progress from a broken, suicidal young women into healing. All of it happening because of her interactions with a girl from the French Revolution.

Long story short I ended up loving this story. If you're like me and you enjoy historical fiction you'll really enjoy this book.

Mockingjay by Susan Collins

2010-09-27T19:05:00.000-07:00

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

The final installment of The Hunger Games.

Previous review on Catching Fire (Book 2)

Katniss has survived her second round in the Hunger Games. The Quarter Quell has ended with her separated from Peeta, and District 12 blown off the map. Katniss now has to acknowledge that District 13 does exist. Now she will have to decide if she can be the symbol of hope to all those who are fighting on the rebel side as well as a symbol of rebelliousness to the Capital.

In the beginning of Mockingjay Katniss has yet to really regain her bearings from the Quarter Quell. She is lost, and wonders about District 13. She uses a therapeutic method of keeping herself grounded by repeating known truths about herself. She doesn't know if Peeta is dead or alive or what it is that the Capital is doing to him. All she knows is that she is relatively safe while he is suffering pains that could be worse then death.

Then Coin, the leader of the Rebellion, tells her that she needs Katniss to be the face of the rebellion. The Mockingjay. When Katniss finally agrees to do what Coin wants she is unsure, again, if her actions will be of any help to anyone outside of the rebellion. Peeta is the one she most often thinks about. His welfare and whether or not the Capital is torturing him at that very moment. Her mother and sister, along with Gales family, are safe. So why would she worry about them? The only person really that Katniss has to worry about is Peeta...and Johanna.

I actually completed Mockingjay almost a week ago, and when i finished the book I knew, just knew, I'd have to read it again in order to really get everything I'd read. I was in such a hurry to just read the pages and learn what happens next. I'd wondered for a year what, and how, Collins would do next. She'd done such a marvelous job of pulling us in and surprising us over and over again. I wanted to know.

SPOILERS

MAJOR SPOILERS

I WARNED YOU.

In the end we all knew it would be Peeta. I was rooting for Gale in Book 1until you really got to know Peeta. Then I had no idea who to like. In Book 3 you get to see Katniss without Peeta, and then at a time when she, like almost everyone else, has found Peeta to be a shadow of his former self. He is no longer the sweet, kind, and intense person who has always loved Katniss from afar. He is instead a Mutt born from the Capital with the express purpose of killing her. It's Gale's chance to step in, take over, and win Katniss over. But he, and Collins, don't play it that way. Instead, as he tells Peeta, he understands that Katniss will choose the person she can't survive without. Gale understands something that even Katniss does not. That Katniss needs someone to balance her out. Someone to be the calm to her fire. I love how that ended. So heartbreakingly lovely and true to their characters.

Okay, now that I've said my piece on that. War is said, and so many lost their lives so easily in this book that it made me not want to turn that next page. To pretend that they are still alive and happy. Collins said she wanted to make her books reflect war. It's scars that are left behind on everyone, and I have to say she did so magnificently. I don't feel she pulled punches when it came to getting her message across. I could hardly get through Cato's death in Book 1, and expected much of the same to happen with Book 3. Although it didn't have quite the same effect seeing how Peeta and Johanna came back from the Capital was hard. Peeta, the always kind and loving boy, reduced to an animal.

I can't really write more on the book, because I really believe it deserves a second read to really get what Collins was trying to convey. I loved it, I cried, and I can't wait to see what Collins comes out with next.

The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

2010-09-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

Recieved from Around the World Tours

New girl Raye Archer is desperate for a way into the In crowd, so when ice-queen Ella Parker chooses her to get back at her ex, the gorgeous Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than game. Even if it means creating a fake Facebook identity as “Elizabeth” so that she can learn enough about Julian to sabotage him. While a fun and dangerous thrill at first, what Raye hadn’t counted on was falling for Julian herself—and igniting Ella’s rage.
As Raye works to reconcile the temptress Elizabeth with her real-life self, Ella serves up her own revenge. Now it’s Raye who falls victim, as Ella creates an online smear campaign of nasty rumors and trashy photographs. Suddenly notorious, Raye has to find a way out of the web of deceit that she’s helped to build, and back to the relationships that matter.

This was actually the first book I've read that dealt with the very real situation of fake cyber identities, and how people, and not just teenagers but everyone, uses them.The amazing thing about this book is how very straight to the point it was, which was great I needed a to-the-point book. Raye wants to be popular and liked while at the same time talk to a boy she'd never talk to in real life. When the reason Raye ends up talking to him is to be friends with his uber-popular ex...well things keep getting more and more complicated without Raye being able to a way out.

Along with the invention of the internet came the amazing idea of being someone you could never be in real life. To talk to people, and eventually be able to say things you'd never say in real life.

With that said, the cover of this book and the summary were amazing draws to reading this book. I was hooked right from the get-go, and while this book was good, kept me reading, and the story entirely relateable it was fairly average. I enjoyed it, and the main character could of been me in high school. But it wasn't a story that knocked me off my feet. At the same time I'd started reading Mockingjay, and, well, not much compares to a book you've been waiting forever to read. Sorry Adele Griffin!

Virals by Kathy Reichs

2010-09-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

Virals by Kathy Reichs

Recieved from Around the World Tours

A new series: “young adult forensic thrillers with a touch of fantasy”, the Viral books will feature Tory Brennan, the 14-year-old great-nephew of Reichs’ adult series character, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Tory is one of five teenagers living on an isolated island who, after a veterinary experiment goes wrong, are left with heightened powers of smell, sight and hearing, increased memory, and improved strength and speed. These powers are triggered by strong emotions and cannot be called upon at will.

I'd hoped that there would have been more fantasy then forensics in this. I have to say that I enjoy Science Fiction, which I thought this was more of, rather then what I got. Tory, the main character, had a voice that was truly commercial and annoying. (Side note: There is nothing wrong with commercial since one of favorite authors is Meg Cabot. I love her stuff, and she sells like hotcakes.) She was too self-deprecating, and almost immediately Reich finds a way to link Tory her to very popular series Bones. The brilliant niece whose father never knew she existed so of course he has no idea how to deal with her. Tory's mother is dead and thus Tory can be gone almost constantly without much parental supervision.

I didn't get far into this book, and if I didn't have to write a review for all the books I read I wouldn't have reviewed this one. It wasn't the writing, since the writing was good and as I said commercial so it appealed to me very well, but it just wasn't a book that would really appeal to me. I'm sure fans of forensic thrillers would have enjoyed this book so much more then I can.

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

2010-09-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Grace by Elizabeth Scott
(Website)

Young Adult

Received from Around the World Tours

Grace was raised to be an Angel, a herald of death by suicide bomb. But she refuses to die for the cause, and now Grace is on the run, daring to dream of freedom. In search of a border she may never reach, she travels among malevolent soldiers on a decrepit train crawling through the desert. Accompanied by the mysterious Kerr, Grace struggles to be invisible, but the fear of discovery looms large as she recalls the history and events that delivered her uncertain fate.

I loved this book. I can't say how much I loved it beyond saying that that I devoured it even when I was stressed and bogged down by the third week of school. And this book happens completely on a train. 200 pages of a girl on a train, and I could hardly put it down. Amazing and wonderful, sad and tragic, this book hit along the same caliber as Scott's Living Dead Girl, which I have read and cried over twice.

Grace lives in a world of rebels ready die for a cause against a tyrant that makes everyone's life hellish. All Grace wanted was to be accepted both in the eyes of the Angels and the eyes of her father. After a disastrous event, Grace finds herself in a train station waiting to board and make the perilous and stressful journey outside of her country and away from the tyrants rule. I can't say what I really loved about this book without spoiling it. It was dark and controversial, but I loved it. I'm not a fan of Scott's lighter works, but I've found that her darker works always speak to me in a way that resonates a long time after I've read it. Grace was no different. You can bet I'll be buying Grace to add to my library.

Rising Shadow by Jaquelyn Wheeler

2010-08-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler
(Author Page)

From Around the World Tours
Already released with book two Merger already out.

Ashlyn Woods just transferred to one of the most beautiful campuses on the west coast, where she can't wait to start her life over as a normal college student. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she discovers that she is a Soterian: a person who develops amazing powers when the balance of good and evil shifts too far in evil's favor.

Soon she and the other Soterians are studying martial arts and learning to use their powers to prevent California from being plunged into chaos. But they quickly discover that they're up against a much more dangerous enemy than they anticipated.

And when Ashlyn meets Kai, a devastatingly gorgeous guitar player, she realizes she must sacrifice more than she ever imagined.

To be honest when I started reading this book I rolled my eyes a little. Superheros that loose their powers, but gain them back? Eh. A girl that falls in love with a gorgeous guitar player? Done. The writing was good, and the characters were intriguing enough to get interested in and pull me through the book. Sadly, I was disappointed by this novel in that the good writing was all I could say about it. Yes, the main character, Ashlyn, was fun to read, and kept me interested. Her snarky humor was fun, and just the kind of humor that makes me laugh more often then not. Her low sense of self is, again, normal in these kinds of books, and getting to the point of cliche.

The introduction confused me a bit when it starts four months in the future, in one of the most mundane of moments...traffic, and then moves back to before Ashlyn learns about her superpowers. I kept wondering between Ashlyn's loser boyfriend and going to a new college how the hell her superpowers played into the story. The story wasn't boring and it wasn't slow to read.Somehow a book about superheros just didn't work out for me, and I'm not sure why. The book was well written, it moved at a moderate pace, and the main character and her love interest weren't bad characters. The book just didn't work for me.

Like always check out the book for yourself. This is one of those reviews were I can't say I hated it and I can't say I loved it.

Kiss It by Erin Downing

2010-08-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Kiss It by Erin Downing

(Book Page) (Author Page)

Chastity Bryan has never been shy about going after what she wants. And when sexy, mysterious, so-not-from-this-town Sebastian walks into Chaz’s life, she knows in an instant that what she wants next is him. Chaz has no intention of playing for keeps—but she most definitely has intentions. Who needs true love when you’ve got true lust? Sebastian has no idea what he’s in for—but maybe neither does Chaz...

Chastity, known better as Chaz, is looking for lust. Not love, not even like. She wants to have sex, but knows that the prospects in her small town of Milton, Minnesota isn't much. She makes due having already tasted carnal pleasure--if you can really call it that since it only lasted for less then a minute--by looking for her next fix. Trouble is that she has no idea where it will come from since all the teenage boys in her town are not what she would see as long term, no strings attached, fuck buddies.

Then a new guy walks into her life. Sebastian is in Milton to visit his father on a court mandated Christmas break. Immediately Chaz sees the potential in him. He's cute, not from Milton, and in a mere vacation he will be gone from her life quickly. Chaz pursues Sebastian, and most of the time she's confused with what he really wants from her. (Twisty Note: This doesn't really get easier with age, ladies.) Between Chaz wanting Sebastian, her best friend feeling major guilt over her own sexual relationship with her long-term boyfriend, and one other very sad, very life changing event this book really touches on a whole lot more then just sex.

Lets face it, if Candace Bushnell wrote a book on Samantha Jones as a teenager this would of probably hit pretty close to home. (And I might actually read it. In all honestly Sex and the City the book is nowhere near as fabulous as Sex and the City the series and movies. Also, I'm just so not a fan of hers, and any book I've read by her.) Chaz is so single-minded and focused on sex that Samantha Jones is what popped into my mind almost instantly. Despite what people might think that teenagers can handle this book was hilarious, honest, and I loved that the main character was ironically named Chastity. This book I would offer to lovers of comedy, and slice-of-life books. I could totally see me loving this book as a teenager, and many of my friends from then fitting so well into Chaz's sense of self.

On top of that abortion, teen pregnancy, safe sex, cancer, and so many more topics that are touched on in this book I loved it, and it's definitely being added to the highly recommended list.

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin

2010-08-04T19:12:00.000-07:00

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin
Illustrations by Lisa Brown

Jennie’s connection with her twin brother, Toby, grew stronger after he died in 1864. Now Jennie must rely on her ability to communicate with the dead to find out what has happened to her beloved fiance, Will, while he was off at war. The army says he died honorably in battle. His brother confides that he became a violent criminal and died in a prison camp. Jennie begins to doubt that anyone is telling her the truth. This intriguing combination of historical romance, paranormal thriller, and clever mystery is illustrated by bestselling artist Lisa Brown. The unique visuals originated from real Civil War daguerreotypes that were transformed into eerie mementos for Jennie’s scrapbook. With the help of a spiritualist photographer, the spirit of her dead fiance, and the clues she discovers and keeps in her scrapbook, Jennie must put together the pieces of this mystery before she loses her home, her fortune, and possibly her life.

Jennie is 16 years old, and has suffered crushing losses over and over again. After finding out her fiance died in battle Jennie knows that her time spent in his family's house is borrowed. All this, and loosing her twin brother, Toby, who refuses to leave her side makes Jennie's life anything but ordinary. One of the things I really like about a historically set novel is the formality of the narrator. I don't know why but it's always so novel for me, and Jennie doesn't disappoint in this aspect. She rather spot on. Picture the Dead is set during the American Civil War, and the attention to historical details was another aspect of this book that I really liked. Jennie didn't drag on and on being overly descriptive; which a lot of historical novels tend to do. She got to the point, said what she had to say, and moved on.

Now here is where I have to say the things I didn't like. Read that summary? Great. Think it was a ghost story about a girl who speaks to the dead? Me too. Lemme tell you this book has paranormal-ish aspects, but it's not a paranormal. It's a book about a girl who lost her whole family, her fiance and twin brother to the war. Her twin brother stands in the background, and ever so often Jennie feels him there and remembers him. Tragic, yes, but not paranormal in the sense that I thought it would be. I thought she would communicate with the dead or but Jennie doesn't actually communicate with anyone dead. She mentions feeling her brother's presence but he never talks to her. Neither does her fiance. I went into this book thinking it was one thing, and I found out it was more a mystery set during the Civil War. The real story lies in wondering what Jennie will do now seeing as she's a women without a father, brother, or husband to take care of her, and in learning how Will, her fiance, really died.

In all honesty I truly enjoyed this book, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be about. It was intriguing and had me turning the pages, but definitely not a paranormal. I liked how it ended, I liked how it was written, and I look forward to reading my next Adele Griffin book. She's a writer I really think I could keep picking up.

Jump by Elisa Carbone

2010-07-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

Jump by Elisa Carbone

Received from Around the World Tours

(Author Page) (Book Page)

Jump. That is what P.K. has done. A totally wild, crazy jump from a restrictive life with her family into a life of total adventure—rock-climbing out west with a guy she barely knows. At first, everything’s amazing. Not only are they climbing in awesomely beautiful national parks like Yosemite but they seem awesomely made for one another. P.K. is in heaven. And then the cops show up . . . with an arrest warrant. And P.K. has to decide who to believe: this amazing guy whom she trusts with her life—or the cops, who want her to believe that he may take her life.

What I expected from Jump I'm not quite sure. I've read so many books told in two or more points of view I've come to see some well written books, some good, and some that just ended up confusing me. Which was the boy and which was the girl again? Jump fell into the good category. With names like PK and Critter it took me a bit to remember which was which. PK is a tomboy kind of girl, independent and on her own. She takes crap from no one, and this kind of attitude, I suppose, lands her into trouble. Trouble that makes her parents want to send to her a private boarding school because, I guess, they just can't handle her. However, the longer I spent in PK's mind the I less I could understand just why her parents felt the need to send her away. She seemed adventurous, but a troubled teen? Not really. Her friends didn't choose to go with her when she asked them run away and go climbing together. So bad influences? Hardly. It seemed more to me that PK dressed and acted in ways that her parents had a hard time identifying with, but in no way did PK seem to need to be sent away anywhere.I was confused by this definitely, but for the sake of the story I suppose PK had to have a reason to run away.

The one crazy thing I could see from PK was her need to run away so badly that she takes off with Critter, a boy she just met literally minutes ago, because he's the only one that will go with her on her rock climbing trip. Little does PK know, Critter has just run away from a mental hospital and just so happens to walk into the rock climbing gym right at the moment that she needs a climbing partner. After all she promised her best friend she wouldn't go alone right?

Surprising? Yes. But then, Critter is often surprising. Shocking? Not really, but he seems to think he has shocked me. He clams up, goes to get his sleeping bag, and walks back past me with it like he's going to find his own spot to sleep. I catch his hand on the way by.

"Critter it's not that bad," I tell him.

(...)

He looks at me hopefully. "So you're not totally freaked out?"

I shake my head. "Nope."

He grins. "So... you want to make out?" (pg. 102)

Critter is eccentric, but hardly a bad person. Despite having escaped rather spectacularly from a mental hospital he seems like a regular teenager who meets a girl he thinks is hot. Gets the chance to hang out with her, and takes it so fast he can't believe other red-blooded males aren't taking PK up on her offer. He seems perfectly fine. Between meeting PK and running off to rock climb Critter seems no more different from any other male I've encountered. I generally enjoyed his point of view. He was just eccentric enough to make me want to know more about his way of thinking, and reading PK's reactions to him was funny, and had me nodding my head in understanding.

The rocks are powerful. I feel them pulling me into their three-hundred-million-years-ago-I-used-to-be-an-ocean-floor presence. I nearly disappear into them, but Dante's chatter yanks me back. New routes to be had. Untouched rock deep in the canyon. Too cold in the winter; now the weather is perfect. His girlfriend is coming to put up a new route with him. All I can think is, Spend the day climbing those amazing rocks, spend the night with a hot girl, what could be better? (pg. 51)

Jump was funny, suspenseful, and enjoyable to read. It was a sweet romantic story about two teens who find each other under the strangest of circumstances. It made me want to rock climb, to see the sights, to be in that car with the apostates, and have a conversation with Critter and PK just to learn more about them. I really enjoyed Jump more then I thought I would, and that is always a pleasant surprise.

Virgin Territory by James Lecesne

2010-07-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Virgin Territory by James Lecesne

(B&N) (Author Page)
Received from Around the World Tours

Virgin Territory explores the power of faith and our need to believe in miracles. Sixteen-year-old Dylan Flack is uprooted from his cozy life in New York City by the death of his mother of cancer the night before 9/ll. He finds himself transplanted to Jupiter, Florida, and in the chaos of the move discovers that his father has lost their treasured collection of family photos. Dylan feels that he has begun to lose the memory of his mother's face, and without access to those pictures of their past together, each day stretches darkly into a future without hope. Enter: the Virgin Club, a nomadic group of trailer kids whose mostly single parents drag them all over the country in search of sightings of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Although not looking for membership in any club, Dylan falls in love with their leader, Angela, who believes that change occurs in direct proportion to desire and the willingness to take risks. In a series of misadventures and brushes with the law in what Dylan comes to think of as "virgin territory," she teaches Dylan to risk a future without his favorite parent. Miraculously his new found courage leads to a long overdue confession from his father that brings them closer together and catapults Dylan into a future that holds more promise.

While I felt that the writing was good, and the story was engaging, due to time constraints I can't honestly give any review, good or bad, to this book. I simply did not have the time to devote to reading enough of the book. Please refer to the tour page for more reviews on this book.

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth

2010-07-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Received ARC from Around the World Tours (Tour Page)
(Author Page) (Book Page)

When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.
When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.
Told in alternating viewpoints, In a Heartbeat tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart. -From Amazon

Eagan accidentally dies in a very unusual way while figure skating. After her death Eagan is stuck between the afterlife and the life she can't seem to leave behind. Her tale is of her past, the unsaid words, the people she loved that she'd left behind, and the events in her life that shaped her. Unable to let go of her life and the people she left behind Eagan spends most of the book trying to find her way back to those memories and people she left behind.

Amelia is dying of heart failure. She is torn between wanting to live, and knowing that living means the death of someone else. Once she does get the heart transplant she desperate needs Amelia finds herself acting and being different. Where she was once shy and introverted she is now sarcastic and out going. The changes in herself causes Amelia to want to learn about her new heart, and the person that owned it before. Amelia's story follows her need to find the donor's family and bring some sense of closure, and to learn more about her.

Wow, I wanted to literally shake Amelia. I was so infuriated with her extreme passive-aggressive attitude at the beginning of the book. She gets the call for a new heart and while her mother is running around trying to get her to the hospital for the surgery Amelia is sitting around in her bedroom picking her toes, looking at horse pictures, and playing cards with her brother. I know that the author was trying to show that Amelia is guilt-ridden from the fact that her donor has to die to give her a heart, but I was ready to just slap her. Hurry up! Do you really want to die? I kept thinking. Move it!

"I'm so happy for you, Amelia. Mom has been praying nonstop."

I wanted to get caught up in her happiness. Rachel made it sound like I'd won the lottery. The lottery of recylced hearts, and I was a lucky winner.

"I'm not ready," I confessed. "I'm not ready for this operation. I don't want to go, Rachel." I knew I sounded like a coward and a crybaby.

"Don't cry," she said, and she hugged me again, because now I really was crying. I didn't want to cry. I wanted to be happy like her, to be excited, the good kind of excitement that comes when wonderful things are happening, like when you win a new car. Not the excitement of winning a new heart. (pg. 26)

Eagan on the other hand---seriously how do you even say this girls name---I could totally relate to. Unsure of her life, fighting with her mother, dealing with the strange concept of knowing what you want. I got her immediately. I don't know what this says about me, but Eagan was me when I was in high school. Sans the parents with a troubled marriage. When she dies she realizes that there were so many things left unsaid, most especially towards her mother. Eagan cannot leave to the great beyond until she is able to find peace in the life she left behind. This character I didn't want shake, and I think we can all understand this feeling of unfinished business. If you died today what would you leave behind? Eagan is left in limbo, and it isn't until she finds another girl that she starts to understand that she needs to move on.

She's looking straight at me. A girl. She stands out because she's not pasty gray like everything around her. Like me. She's wearing a frilly dress the same shade as the marigold bushes in Mom's garden. Her black curly hair is glittery. It reminds me of the stuff we put on our hair before competitions.

"Can you see me?" I ask.

She nods and waves like she wants to come over but needs to be invited.

Finally. Someone to talk to. My heart feels lighter. Maybe she can help me find my way back to my life.

"Hey," I say.

She doesn't need more of an invitation. She's next to me in a flash.

"I'm Eagan. What's your name?" (pg. 90)

This book had an interesting concept both in Eagan needing to find peace after her death, and in the changes that occur in Amelia once she acquires a new heart. Unfortunately, while other readers of this book on the tour had mentioned how powerful and heartbreaking it was I felt it was simply good. Interesting premise, characters that evoked a reaction with me (good or bad), but it also felt like it could have been two books. I believe simply focusing on Amelia and her story then writing a companion book for Eagan could have given Ellsworth the ability to really spotlight and flesh out these two girls. In this case the dual narrative just didn't work for me. I had a hard time separating the fantasy elements from what I think Ellsworth was really wanting to focus on, the concept of cellular memory.

Despite how I feel about this book it has received a lot of great reviews. As always I encourage you to look at the tour page, and read all the other lovely opinions there.

Insatiable by Meg Cabot

2010-07-07T15:33:00.000-07:00

Insatiable by Meg Cabot
(Author Website) (Book Extras)
Adult Paranormal
Or as Meg calls it Girl Gothic.

Kindle Version.

"Ever since I left you this morning," Lucien said, "I've had the oddest sensation that I know how almost every human I've come into contact with is going to die. And not, whatever you might think of me, by my own hands. Would you care to tell me what, exactly, is going on?"

Meena let out a sigh. "It's me," she said. "It'll probably go away after your next feeding."

His grip on her tightened. "What are you talking about?" he rasped.

"You drank my blood," she reminded him. "This should teach you to be more careful. You are what you eat, you know." -From author website.

Meena Harper is a dialouge writer for the number one soap opera, Insatiable, that is until the competitor, Lust, starts it's own vampire storyline. Now Insatiable is getting its butt kicked in the ratings, and Meena is asked to write in a vampire storyline for ratings.

Meena hates vampires, and she hates how vampire crazed the world has become, because we all know that vampires always seek out the pretty, sexy girls. Or as Meena sees it, monster misogyny.

Then, Meena is asked attend a party her neighbor is hosting for her husbands cousin, the Prince, which she really, really doesn't want to do. But, how can she say no to someone that clearly won't take it for an answer? Meena attends the party reluctantly with her brother Jon, and in the span of one night Meena's whole world is changed forever. Those monsters she hated so much? Turns out they exist, and her new boyfriend, Lucien, is one. Not just any vampire either. He's the prince of darkness. Lucien is in New York to investigate recent murders of young women, but when he meets Meena things change.

Did I mention that Meena also has a special gift of her own? She can tell you exactly how you're going to die, and once other vampires realize this she becomes the next big thing in fine dining.

I can't tell you how much I really loved this book. Out of all of Meg's books that I have read--and I've read nearly all of them--this book will probably become my favorite. To me, it's one of her better written books, and she takes a point of view that she normally doesn't use, third person with an alternating point of view between Meena, Alriac, Lucien, and Jon, Meena's brother. To me this really enhanced the book wonderfully and just brought so much of what was going on to life in a way that first person just can't do.

Honestly I can't speak highly enough about this book. It was funny, scary, monstrous, and deliciously sexy when it needed to be. Meg did not give up her very funny and sometimes description heavy writing style in order to write about a subject I have to say is getting a bit overdone. Despite becoming quite tired of vampires and vampire books I still loved how Meg brought about the older mythology of vampires while still making fun of itself and a certain other vampire series.

I gotta say that if you love paranormal vampire books or even if you're just plain tired of them pick up this book. I'm getting burnt out on them, and I still loved it. I'm totally buying the hardback. Insatiable is out now with a sequel following next year.

And once you're done reading the book visit the Insatiable website to read deleted scenes, extras, and learn about the cutest muse for this story. Jack Bauer, the dog.

Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells

2010-07-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
(Author Page)
ARC received from Around the World Tours

Summer of Skinny Dipping is currently released and available for purchase.

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, sixteen-year-old Mia Gordon is looking forward to spending a relaxing summer in the Hamptons with her glamorous cousins. But when she arrives, her cousins are distant, moody, and caught up with a fast crowd. Mia finds herself lonelier than ever. That's when she meets her next-door-neighbor, Simon Ross. Simon isn't like the snobby party boys her cousins seem obsessed with; he's funny, artistic, and utterly adventurous. And from the very first time he encourages Mia to go skinny-dipping, she's caught up in a current impossible to resist. (Source)

I don't remember signing up for this book at all. I've been trying to keep a record of all the books I'm signing up for so I can keep up with them, but I obviously didn't do a good enough job. As a result I ended up not realizing I had this book on the way, and it was nice change from all the paranormal I've been reading to read a fairly normal romantic YA.

Mia is normal teenage girl who thought she was in love with her boyfriend, until, that is, he dumped her for a girl that was sticking around for the summer. (Ugh, men, am I right?) Mia is devastated, but when her family travels to an old family vacation spot on the beach with her favorite cousin, Corinne, Mia thinks things are looking up. It isn't until she arrives at Indigo Beach that she realizes just how much Corinne has changed since she last saw her. Apparently, Mia is uncool, and Corinne lets her know it with her snotty actions.

Corinne is snobby and trying to be more grown up than she is, smoking and talking like she's seen and done it all. Mia thinks she's got a psychological problem the way Corinne's emotions bounce back and forth. Corinne just wants to party and Mia feel small town and lost trying to be on par with her cousin. Then she meets Simon, and things change. Simon becomes Mia's summer love, and she's blissfully happy in her bubble with him. The only question left now is what Simon and Mia will do once the summer is over.

First off, the writing was really good. I wasn't totally in the mood for a romance, especially when I wasn't anticipating this novel, but I found this book to be a lovely summer read. I honestly don't believe I read a lot of romance novels since I believe that I can find romance in almost any novel. It doesn't necessarily have to be all the book is about, but this book was sweet and set during a time like summer where all you could do is live in that romance...well I liked it. I think most teen girls will too. The book dragged a bit in places, but I could totally relate to Mia being lost even in the company of family.

Most reviewers are split when it comes to the ending. It seems like they either hated or loved it. Personally it was okay, for me, but again I think all readers will just have to make a decision for themselves. I like books like this in that they spark a conversation. I can't wait to read more reviews.

Visit the ARC Tour page to read other reviews on Summer of Skinny Dipping.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

2010-06-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
(Author Page) (Sisters Red Series)

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris-- the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts fiercely alongside her. Now Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves and finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax-- but loving him means betraying her sister and has the potential to destroy all they've worked for.

Sisters Red was a book I didn't want to finish reading, which is really good! I didn't want it to end and I wanted to spend some more time with Silas, Scarlett, and Rosie. I enjoyed Jackson's storytelling, and the world that she created for her retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. She implemented a lot of the fairy tale while also making the story original and hers. Where there was myth she found the ability to modernize the story without straight out retelling it, and simply expanding on the original story.

Scarlett and Rosie are both sisters who witnessed their grandmother dying at the hands of a Fenri, and as a result Scarlett is left scarred and changed. She vows to hunt the Fenri with every last breath in her body, and Rosie follows her sisters passion. Now both girls are teenagers fighting and killing the Fenri with the hope that with each Fenri they manage to destroy one more girl won't die. The only real difference between Scarlett and Rosie is that while both are hunters, Rosie feels the need to walk away from the hunt, if only for a couple of hours, to be part of the normal human crowd, and longs to find love.

When the Fenris begin to hunt for the Potential, a human male that can be turned into a Fenri, Scarlett, Rosie and their friend and woodsmen Silas decide to move to Atlanta to hunt the Fenri. Many packs are appearing to search, and where there are many Fenri there are also deaths. The Fenri hunt and eat humans. In particular, human females of the beautiful and young variety. Where Rosie is noticing how very handsome Silas is Scarlett is obsessed with the need to hunt.

On the surface Sisters Red is a fairy tale retold, but it is also a tale of love. Scarlett's love for her sister is unending. The spark of romance that Rosie feels for her long-time friend Silas is sweet. Over all the story was really sweet when love was the focus, and passionately fierce when the three fight the Fenri. They are united in the common cause of killing the wolves and keeping the Dragonflies blissfully unaware, but it is also this knowledge and cause that could threaten their relationship.

If you haven't read this book I'm about to talk about a couple spoiler-y parts. You may want to just stop reading here, and skip to the end. Highlight the text to read what I have to say.

I wasn't completely thrilled with Sisters Red only in that I found parts of it expected. I figured out who the Potential was halfway through, and was just waiting for the main characters to figure it out too. I don't know if it's just because I'm an older reader or if it was because of the storytelling, but when I heard the wolf say; "We've got what we need." Who the Potential was clicked in my head, and I'd hoped that the same was true for the girls. Reading a little further I could see exactly why the main characters wouldn't have immediately suspected, but when it turned out I was right...well I just wish I hadn't. Again it's a tricky area that I don't like or dislike, but it was predictable.

I was sad for Scarlett who chose to live for the hunt rather then for herself. Or perhaps the hunt really was for herself? Anyway I really felt hat Scarlett only saw her scars, and those scars seemed to define her in a negative way. She seemed to feel like those scars were all she had, and I was sad for her. I wanted her to find love and happiness and learn to accept her scars. She must be beautiful if she can lead in Fenri and be the bait. Why Scarlett couldn't allow herself to find and fall in love was beyond me. I was happy for Rosie who found her love, and I could completely understand her needing to live in that love rather than pain. Perhaps there will be a point in the series where this will be resolved? Hum.

Over all though this book was a fun read. I enjoyed the fight scenes and how well both girls took to defending themselves. I loved the romance, and the sisters. If they made me feel the need to hate or love them I think Jackson has done her job beautifully. I put the book down several times, but this was because I didn't want to finish it. I didn't want to stop being in Rosie and Scarlett's world, and that is awesome.

I can't wait for the next companion books in this series, Sweetly and Fathomless. Both are retellings, but if they are anything like Sisters Red I'm sure we'll be in for a marvelous surprise.

eta: Read Jackson Pearce's guest post on Book Chick City.

My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours

2010-06-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

My Fake Boyfriend is Better Than Yours by Kristina Springer

(Author) (Amazon)

This ARC was received as a part of Around the World Tours.
My Fake Boyfriend will be out August 1, 2010!

Seventh grade was supposed to be fun, but Tori is having major drama with her BFF, Sienna. Sienna changed a lot over the summer—on the first day of school she’s tan, confident, and full of stories about her new dreamy boyfriend. Tori knows that she’s totally making this guy up. So Tori invents her own fake boyfriend, who is better than Sienna’s in every way. Things are going great—unless you count the whole lying-to-your-best-friend thing—until everyone insists Tori and Sienna bring their boyfriends to the back-to-school dance.

Would you look at that! My first Middle Grade fiction, AND it's funny! The story begins with Tori getting ready for her first day of school. For the the very first time since kinder Tori is getting ready alone. In fact for months Tori hasn't heard from or received an email from her best friend Sienna, because Sea was away on a family vacation. The start of the school year just isn't the same without Sienna, and Tori feels a bit lost. Until she realizes that the reason she hasn't heard from Sienna is because she has a new tan and a new boyfriend. A boyfriend Sienna is pretty sure is fake!

What is a girl to do? Make up her own fake boyfriend who is better in every way then her best friends fake boyfriend.

Oh, middle school (and high school for that matter!) how interesting fights and competitions can become between the best of friends. I remember quite vividly the big blow-outs that I had with my own friends. My father called it a Love/Hate relationship, and as an older reader this book really reminded me about that time in my life. For younger readers this book may come at a time where fights have a occurred and it seems like they will never be friends again. Or they will have not yet experienced what a big fight between friends can be. Either way this book can really resonate with tween girls feeling their way through tween social dynamics while making you laugh at all the ways Tori and Sienna find to one-up each others fake boyfriends. When Sienna and Tori are asked to bring their boyfriends to the school dance both girls have to scramble to cover up their lies.

This was a funny, quick read definitely suitable for pre-teens who love to laugh. Or, you know, adults.

Retro Friday: Rats of NIMH

2010-06-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted here at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! I include roundups from participating bloggers in my post every week. - From Angieville

There's something very strange about the rats living under the rosebush at the Fitzgibbon farm. But Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with a sick child, is in dire straits and must turn to these exceptional creatures for assistance. Soon she finds herself flying on the back of a crow, slipping sleeping powder into a ferocious cat's dinner dish, and helping 108 brilliant, laboratory-enhanced rats escape to a utopian civilization of their own design, no longer to live "on the edge of somebody else's, like fleas on a dog's back."

This unusual novel, winner of the Newbery Medal (among a host of other accolades) snags the reader on page one and reels in steadily all the way through to the exhilarating conclusion. Robert O'Brien has created a small but complete world in which a mother's concern for her son overpowers her fear of all her natural enemies and allows her to make some extraordinary discoveries along the way. O'Brien's incredible tale, along with Zena Bernstein's appealing ink drawings, ensures that readers will never again look at alley rats and field mice in the same way. Synopsis from GoodReads.

I have to admit that I was a huge fan (and still am!) of the 1982 movie based on this children's novel, The Secret of NIMH which played up a magical element of the story not seen in the original novel. I didn't even know it was a book until I was around 10 or 12, and found it among some old novels left in my older cousins room. I loved this story, and I loved Mrs. Frisby who if you didn't notice, is an adult protagonist in a children's fiction. Yet, I love that Mrs. Frisby worries about her children, and talks about her husband whose intelligence she mentions was passed on her children.

When the farmer's plow threatens the safety of her sick son, Timothy, Mrs. Frisby turns to her husbands friend, Mr. Ages, for help. She is told to visit the Great Owl for advice, and does so despite danger to her life for her son. (She is a field mouse after all!) Mrs. Frisby may not have a genetically altered ability to learn, like Justin or Mr. Ages, but she's a smart and fearless character despite her timid nature. I'm not sure if I love this book because I loved the movie so much or not. I just don't have that kind of perspective on the book away from the movie. I watched it so many times I'm pretty stuck on it, but this is definitely one of those books I want to read to my children one day and pass it on.

Despite it's fantasy elements in the movie, and the fact that there are talking mice and rats, this really is more of a science fiction book.

A Season of Eden by J. M. Warwick

2010-06-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

A Season of Eden by J. M. Warwick

(Author Page) (Amazon)

Book received from Around the World Tours

He's my teacher. I shouldn't be alone with him. But I can't help that he's irresistible. I let the door silently close at my back. He stared at me, and a taut quiet stretched between us.

"I like hearing you play," I said, moving toward him. He turned, in sync with my slow approach. He looked up at me but didn't say anything. I rested my clammy hand on the cold, slick body of the baby grand.

"May I?" The muscles in his throat shifted, then he swallowed.

"Eden." My knees weakened, like a soft tickling kiss had just been blown
against the backs of them.

"Is it okay?" I asked. His gaze held mine like two hands joined. He
understood what I was really asking.

"Let me stay," I said. "Please."

"You're going to get me in trouble," he said.

This book has a topic that is a little hard for me to like. Romantic teacher-student relationships are simply wrong in my book no matter what the age. These are my personal feelings about them.

What makes Eden and her teacher, Mr. Christian, so different from teacher-student relationship portrayed in books like Prey and Boy Toy is that Eden is 18 and Mr. Christian (James) is 22. The relationship is skirting a fine line between what is appropriate and what isn't. For me, it is inappropriate for any teacher to have a relationship with his or her students. Even university professors are, in most cases, not allowed to have a relationship with their students even if they are legally adults. I don't think that Warwick is trying to say that Eden and Mr. Christian's relationship is any better or less sketchy, but I do feel that Warwick has found a new way to write about this kind of relationship.

Eden is teenager who lost her mother years ago, and who watched her father jump into a new marriage just months later. Now, Eden feels forgotten by her father, and hates being around her stepmother. She listens to them fighting and you can tell how badly she wants to escape her home life. Perhaps it's this family life that causes Eden to fall for an inappropriate man, and quickly leave her high school boyfriend without much of a thought. Or perhaps it's the fact that Mr. Christian is only four years older then Eden that they try to convince each other they aren't doing anything wrong. Whatever their insecurities are with this relationship they both can't seem to stop each other from doing it.

This was a well-written, lyrical book. The romance between Eden and Mr. Christian is so tantalizing it's hard not to want things to work out for them. You can really see how Eden falls for Mr. Christian and how he reluctantly falls for her. More of this book is played towards how this relationship helps Eden grow as a person rather then the fact that his is her teacher. Whatever your own feelings are on student-teacher relationships I urge you to give this book a try. I really believe it will have readers talking, and as a comparative piece to YA books like Boy Toy and Prey it has the potential to really spark a discussion. This book was first released in 2008, and is available in paperback.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

2010-06-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Available in full online at BreeTanner.com

In order to read this book and have it make sense you have to have read Twilight at least up to Eclipse. If you're like me and you read Eclipse once oh so long ago that you can't remember who Bree was I'll remind you.

Bree shows up at the end of Eclipse, and has surrendered to the Cullens. She says she doesn't feel the need to fight, and since she is not motivated the Cullens grant her shaky reprieve from dying a second time. Once the Volturi arrive, however, they take Bree and kill her, permanently.

The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner tells of Bree's experiences before the final confrontation between the newborns and the Cullens, and gives an insiders look into what happened in Seattle while the Cullens were preparing for the fight.

Over all it was intriguing to read a perspective in Twilight that wasn't fawning over another character. Bree does feel a kinship and even a spark of a romance with her fellow newborn Diego. She even grows to love him even though she never says so. The tale of newborn Bree, who hungers for human blood and believes that the sun will kill her, is a refreshing take on being a vampire. Although Bree doesn't love being a vampire the abilities and strength that the newborns display are amazing. The effect that this power has on them is human. While Bree will stand back and keep out of the many fights and power plays that run rampant in the Seattle coven she witnesses on a daily basis just how precarious their immortality really is. She fights for her survival, and is clever in so many ways outside her survival.

It was good to see consequences for their behavior, but I felt bad for Bree. Knowing her fate and getting to know her as a character make you want her to live even though you know she won't. She would of been a great character to get to know more of. She was realistic, unsheltered, and smart. She was many things I wanted in a main character, but she wasn't a flawless character. I think she took a little too long contemplating things and was not catching on quick enough for me. There were times when I wanted to her figure certain things out quicker then she was, but hey that was just me.

Like others I was annoyed at the lack of chapter breaks. I didn't sit down and read the whole book in one sitting, and not having chapters breaks was annoying. The book was a pretty decent length as well. It wasn't too long that you got bored, and it wasn't so short that you wanted or need more. It was a really good balance, and easy to read. I know Twilhards will love this book, and if you are like me and are annoyed by Bella's Mary Sue you will be pleased to read a book were consequences exist. And, a little sad at getting what you want.

Personally I'd love to read something new from Stephenie that isn't vampire related. The Host was pretty good, and I heard long ago there was going to be a second book. But something entirely new would be great to. I know I complain about Bella, but honestly I do enjoy reading Stephenie's books. If I didn't I wouldn't keep picking them up.

Faithful by Janet Fox

2010-06-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

Faithful by Janet Fox
(Author Page) (Amazon)
This ARC was received from Around the World Tours.

Sixteen-year-old Maggie Bennet’s life is in tatters. Her mother has disappeared, and is presumed dead. The next thing she knows, her father has dragged Maggie away from their elegant Newport home, off on some mad excursion to Yellowstone in Montana. Torn from the only life she’s ever known, away from her friends, from society, and verging on no prospects, Maggie is furious and devastated by her father’s betrayal. But when she arrives, she finds herself drawn to the frustratingly stubborn, handsome Tom Rowland, the son of a park geologist, and to the wild romantic beauty of Yellowstone itself. And as Tom and the promise of freedom capture Maggie’s heart, Maggie is forced to choose between who she is and who she wants to be.

I, like everyone else apparently, didn't realize this was a Historical novel. Because that summary in the back is a little misleading in not telling you the book is set in the early 1900s. I really enjoy Historical novels, and especially turn-of-the-century novels set in some place beautiful like Yellowstone National Park. I found all this intriguing and lovely, having never been to Yellowstone myself. I also found Maggie's dilemma entirely understandable. To her, the rest of her life hinges on her debut into proper society and finding a husband. Her mother has always been so eccentric and off that her place in society is already dangling by a thread.

When her father receives letters from Maggie's Uncle John he rushes Maggie off to find his missing wife, whom many have presumed dead. Maggie is a captor of society rules and her very gender. She must do what her father says, and when he betrays her trust in him it is heartbreaking. I can't imagine someone, especially my own father, being so blithe about my feelings. I can understand Maggie's situation, and I found Fox's writing to be so beautiful and moving that I was immediately sucked into that time period. I truly enjoy that aspect of this novel.

However...

I have to say that this book could of used a lot less flashbacks. Seriously, authors, if you're going to spend the first 40-50 pages of a book in flashbacks telling the history behind the story I will really, really dislike your book. I don't care how well written or how beautiful your main characters voice is you will loose me as a reader very, very quickly. I will put down your book and not feel badly about it. I was so very close to doing that with this novel. I got tired of those flashbacks so fast that every time one popped up I could only think, "Oh man another flashback?"

Overall though, this was a beautiful book in many other ways. It's out now in paperback.

Mommywood by Tori Spelling

2010-05-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

Mommywood by Tori Spelling

(Author)

If you thought Tinseltown was tough . . .Tori Spelling might have grown up with everything a girl could wish for, but these days she’s just another suburban working mom . . . whose toddler regularly recognizes her in the pages of US Weekly. Welcome to Mommywood, where the stars are two feet tall and your neighbors know who you are before you move in. Like most parents, Tori wants her children to have the one thing she didn’t have as a kid—a normal family. On their hit Oxygen reality show, Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood, the starlet and her husband Dean McDermott regularly wrestle dirty diapers, host the neighborhood block party, and tackle temper tantrums on the red carpet. But when the cameras aren’t rolling, Tori’s still having awkward run-ins with a former 90210 costar at a laser tag birthday party, scooping rogue poo out of the kiddie pool on a resort vacation, and racing to win back her pre-baby body before the media starts calling her fat. For all her suburban fantasies, Tori Spelling is no June Cleaver. With the same down-to-earth wit that made her entertaining memoir sTORI telling a #1 New York Times bestseller, Tori tells the hilarious and humbling stories of life as a mom in the limelight, from learning to be the kind of parent her own mother never was to revealing what it’s like to raise a family while everyone is watching. Mommywood is an irresistible snapshot of celebrity parenthood that you won’t get from the paparazzi. (Synopsis from B&N.com)

Yes, I seriously read this book. Yes, I actually liked it! And, no, I don't really make it habit to read celebrity tell-alls. Let alone Tori's first book, sTORI Telling. I know near to nothing about the Tori Spelling nor have I really watched any of her movies. So, why then would I be compelled to read Mommywood. I honestly have no idea. I find Tori and Dean's story to be the anti-Angelina and Brad in that I had no idea that Tori and Dean fell in love while he was still married. It is also something that is talked about in this book, and while I don't love that Dean was married before I can see the love he has for Tori and their children in this book. Tori and Dean talk about thier marriage with honestly and openness that you just don't normally see in mostly Hollywood relationships.

Also, confession time, I had actually watched a couple episodes of Tori and Dean's reality show when Tori was pregnant with Liam...now that Liam is 3 years old, um, I've missed quite a few episodes. However I enjoyed what few episodes I have seen, and I suppose because of that I wanted to read Mommywood. Again, I enjoyed this book for what it was. Tori made fun of herself in that she is a pampered Hollywood child. She isn't used to doing things on her own, and, being an only child, doesn't know what it's like to care for another human being. Her husband, Dean, however has not only had a child with his previous wife, but grew up in entirely different non-Hollywood culture. Tori talks about her insecurities in not only raising her son, but raising her daughter, Stella, and not making the same mistakes that her mother did with her.

I loved Tori's voice in this book. Her ability to make fun of herself and take you almost seemingly into her life made this book relateable. Yes, it was relateable because I think, despite your cultural background, you would be equally scared changing your baby's diaper or raising a daughter without your personal hang-ups. We are all the same deep down, and this book makes Tori so much more human to those who just see her as a Star.

Read this book. Especially if you are going to have a baby. I really think that this book can make you laugh and nod your head in understanding.

The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen

2010-05-18T12:33:00.001-07:00

The Gardener by S. A. Bodeen

Source: Uncorrected Proof from Around the World Tours

Will be published 05/25/10.

(Author Website) (Book Page)

Summary:

Mason has never known his father, but longs to. All he has of him is a DVD of a man whose face is never seen, reading a children’s book. One day, on a whim, he plays the DVD for a group of comatose teens at the nursing home where his mother works. One of them, a beautiful girl, responds. Mason learns she is part of a horrible experiment intended to render teenagers into autotrophs—genetically engineered, self-sustaining life-forms who don’t need food or water to survive. And before he knows it, Mason is on the run with the girl, and wanted, dead or alive, by the mysterious mastermind of this gruesome plan, who is simply called the Gardener. Will Mason be forced to destroy the thing he’s longed for most?(Summary from publisher site.)

The Gardener is the second published book by S. A. Bodeen. I haven't read her first book, The Compound, before reading this uncorrected ARC. The Gardener is not an unknown plot to people of my generation. We grew up in the midst of 1980's and early 90's cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original) and Captain Planet. Stories that were meant to make people aware of the effects of pollution and the effect humans have on the planet. The Gardner deals with famine and overpopulation rather then pollution, but the end result is very much the same. The loss of the ability our planet will has to sustain the growing human population.

The premise of this story is very Science Fiction as it deals with using humans as guinea pigs in an interestingly unique plot to solve the problem of famine. Mason has never known his father, and knows that his best ticket to getting a college education is using his brains. When he goes to visit his mother, who works in a nursing home, to confront her Mason meets across a beautiful teenage girl who suddenly wakes from her coma. From the moment Mason meets her he feels an undeniable pull to protect her. This protectiveness leads Mason on a road to learn more about her, why she never drinks or eats, and eventually about his own past.

I felt that this novel was really interesting even for someone, like me, who doesn't read a lot of Science Fiction. It would definitely be a good choice for readers that enjoyed Candor. I also think that, on the note that the novel ended, there could be a lot that can be done in a sequel. I was left with questions, and wonder if Bodeen plans on follow this novel with another. I will say that I agree with other reviews in that there were lags in the novel, but as The Boy says all novels lag once in a while. The lag times in this novel didn't stop my interest in the story.

One thing I will say about the book was seeing a boy be that protective over a girl he just met. I know I complain night and day about how the Twilight series ended up going, and how Bella talks incessantly about Edward's looks and god-like abilities. The difference between that and Mason being protective over a girl he just met and has only known maybe 48 hours is this; he doesn't wax poetic about her looks every other sentence. He knows she's beautiful, and he says it, but he also knows how her looks and ways of making him melt aren't all that's going on in the world. It was very sweet to see a male character have a true affection for a girl rather then obsess about her looks. He knows next to nothing about her, but he wants to. It's that drive that makes him take every step he can to help her. Not in a love sick way, but in a very sweet and noble way. You know from other events in the book it isn't because she's a girl. It's simply Mason's personality.

Definite read for Science Fiction fans.

Other Reviews for The Gardener:

Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books
Book Crazy
So Many Books, So Little Time
Bites

The Giver by Lois Lowry

2010-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Giver (Book One) By Lois Lowry

(Author Site) (Giver Trilogy)

Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community.

When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to recieve special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now it's time for Jonas to recieve the truth. There is no turning back.

Summary from back of a 2002 print book.

The Giver is book one of a trilogy called the Giver Trilogy. The world that Jonas lives in is a completely assimilated one. No one questions the life they are given. After 12 yearly milestones the passage of time no longer matters. You are given a job, are trained for that job, and you continue to on in life until you are considered an Old. In Jonas' world everyone has a place, and if you do not fit into one of those places you are sent away. To be sent away is to go into the unknown.

Jonas is called to become the next Receiver, a job that he has never heard of, and will be the only Receiver once his training is complete. He is told it is one of the hardest, most painful, and solitary jobs for one person to have. But, it is also one of the most important. When Jonas begins to train to be the new Receiver he begins to learn things that he never knew before. Like colors, snow, and sunburns. He also learns about making mistakes.

"Frightening isn't it?" The Giver said.

Jonas chuckled. "Very frightening. I can't even imagine it. We really have to protect people from wrong choices."

"It's safer."

"Yes," Jonas agreed. "Much safer."

But when the conversation turned to other things, Jonas was left, still, with a feeling of frustration that he didn't understand. (pg. 98-99)

The more that Jonas learns from the Giver the quicker he realizes that the world has so much more to offer then what he has been shown in his short life. The more he learn the more he begins to want others to see what he sees. While he's been told his whole life that Sameness is best the memories that the Giver is passing onto him causes conflict within himself.

I really have to say that I can see why The Giver is such a classic. The exaggerated conformity of the world that The Giver is set in doesn't really seem too far off. If no one speaks up for change in the world we could very well find ourselves blindly following others.

"It seems to work pretty well that way, doesn't it? The way we do it in our community?" Jonas asked. "I just didn't realize there was any other way, until I received that memory." (pg. 125)

As simplistic as Jonas' life is the more he learns about other ways to live and of other memories the more he wants to experience what is beyond his community. Jonas comes to understand that happiness can come from variety, experience, and knowledge rather then Sameness. The Giver is beautifully written book. The message that Lowry gives to young readers is loud and clear. I look forward to reading the next two books of the series.

Rin-Ne by Rumiko Takahashi

2010-05-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Rin-Ne by Rumiko Takahashi

(Viz Website)

Ever since a strange encounter when she was a child, Sakura Mamiya has had the power to see ghosts. Now in high school, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! When her mysterious classmate Rinne Rokudo shows up, Sakura finds herself following him into the amazing world between life and death! (Synopsis from publisher site.)

Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most unique voices of manga. Her stories are always infused with humor, love, fantasy, and wacky antics. Her most popular series, and possibly most well known, is Ranma 1/2 where a teenage boy and his father are cursed to change into different bodies when splashed with cold water. Her second most popular would be Inu-Yasha, the story of a school girl who falls down an old well and into feudal Japan meeting upon the half-demon half human Inu-Yasha.

Rumiko comes back with her most recent series titled Rin-Ne about a teenage girl named Sakura whose path crosses with the spirit world. The first two volumes of Rin-Ne are currently published in a traditional paper format. What is really unique is that the series is also being published online by the U.S. publisher VIZ in synchronization with it's Japanese publisher for free online. (Start with Chapter One.)

I picked up Rin-Ne at the book store as soon as I heard about it, which was, of course, late. While I used to be pretty into Japanese graphic novels when I was teenager I've culled my recent readings into just a few authors and series'. Rumiko Takahashi is one of those authors I'll automatically pick up. Her previous works like Inu-Yasha, Maison Ikkuko, and Rumic Theater were and still are pretty high ranking comics for me. Although Rin-Ne is a new and available online I haven't read all 48 current chapters. However, Rin-Ne seems to carry over all the same elements of a Rumiko Takahashi story. A fairly normal girl is thrown into an unrealistic situation she can't quite seem to avoid.

The difference between Sakura and the other girls in Rumiko's stories is that I haven't once seen one of Sakura's family members. Every time Sakura is at home she's in her room. She doesn't talk about brothers or sisters or parents which is usual for Rumiko's stories. Normally there is a full cast of family members that makes the series feel fuller and the world Rumiko is creating rounder. Perhaps it's just too early in the series, but from what I've read on other sites the cast for Rin-Ne is small. When you're used to a creator making such large and diverse worlds I have to wonder why the small cast and what this might mean for the stories.

So far though Rin-Ne is still a funny, wacky, romantic story. It holds all the same qualities that past series by Rumiko has created, and is still a very enjoyable read. If you are a fantasy fan I'd really recommend looking into this series. Especially since the fantasy and culture are so different from my own I really enjoy learning about and seeing Rumiko Takahashi's interpretations of Japanese legends and other-worldly creatures. Rin-Ne also touches on the belief of reincarnation after death, and that we all have many past lives, both as humans and other living creatures. All of it is so interesting to read and makes this story, for me, all the more fun to follow.

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

2010-05-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

(Author Page)

Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.
Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she's thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful...and awful.

Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more...(Summary from author page)

This is the first romantic fiction I've read by Elizabeth Scott and my second book overall. The first book being Living Dead Girl which I couldn't put down. Unfortunately I read Living Dead Girl before I started this blog so I didn't write a review entry for it. Still it is one of my top recommended books for teens. It was haunting and sad but one of those books that seemed like it had to be written. Go check it out right now on Scott's site if you've never heard of it.

The Unwritten Rule deals with the lines drawn between girls, guys, and their friendships. I think every girl can pretty much understand Sarah's position when she says she loves her best friend's boyfriend. I think they can understand it even more when she holds herself back and does her best to be there for her best friend even at the cost of her own happiness. Where Sarah is loving and kind outwards she is self-loathing and guilt ridden inside. She knows she shouldn't love her best friends boyfriend. She know she should just forget about him.

But then they kiss. And she can't stop remembering that kiss.

"So are you ready to pay attention to me now?" she says, and kisses him. I stare at my history book and then open it. I'm not on the right page, but it doesn't matter. I'm not looking at it. I'm trying not to think about Brianna and Ryan kissing.

I'm trying not to wonder what he was going to say before she came in.

I'm trying not to think about how I know what his mouth feels like.

Tastes like. (pg. 74)

Sarah is a character I can readily understand. I know what if feels like to think of yourself as plain and unattractive, but while this may be what Sarah thinks of herself it doesn't necessarily make it true. She may be very attractive and Sarah and her best friend can't see it. Brianna is so used to all of the attention she gets and boys fawning over her. It may be hard for her to get that Sarah is attractive as well. I think for most readers Sarah will be easy sell.

Brianna, on the other hand, is really a unique element in this story. You are shown right away that even with all of Brianna's easy beauty and ability to find a date she doesn't have an easy life. She is a child of divorce, and a particularly nasty one at that. Her mother doesn't hesitate to say highly unhelpful things about her appearance, weight, and eating habits that only makes her feel badly about herself. Adversely Brianna treats Sarah in a very similar manner with the assumption that she doesn't see this about herself. And Sarah never tells her about it.

Then there is the relationship between Sarah and Ryan, Brianna's boyfriend and Sarah's love interest. With the unwritten rule of girl friends comes the idea that you betraying a fellow friend for (just) a boy. I think that most people, especially teenagers, only see the betrayal. There is the sense of 'How dare you!' as if, in Sarah's case, she could of helped her feelings. The more you read the book the more you will see that Sarah's supposed betrayal was at the end of a relationship that both Brianna and Ryan saw before that first kiss was ever shared between Ryan and Sarah.

I could completely understand Sarah's need to make it all better. She sees what Brianna is going through everyday and all she wants to do is not be someone in Brianna's life that disappoints her. I thought The Unwritten Rule was a really enjoyable book! I think it dealt with a teenage taboo and friendships really well. Scott didn't seem to try and make Brianna an automatic bad guy or Sarah an automatically horrible friend.

Listen to Elizabeth Scott talk about the book. Then check out other readers reviews of this book.

Other Reviews for The Unwritten Rule:

The Story Siren
GreenBean TeenQueen
Good Reads Page
The Book Reader
Abby (the) Librarian

Nightschool by Svetlana Chmakova

2010-04-28T07:54:00.001-07:00

Nightschool by Svetlana Chmakova
Vol. 1-Vol. 3
(Publisher Page) (Author Page)

Summaries from Yen Press.

Series Synopsis:

Nightschool answers the age-old question—Where do demons get their diplomas? Schools may close for the night and the lights may be off, but class is still in session. At the Nightschool, werewolves, vampires, and witches gather to learn everything from spell casting to calculus. Alex, a young weirn (a particular kind of witch) has always been homeschooled, but dark forces seem to be drawing her closer to the Nightschool and the mysteries within.
Vol. 1 Summary:

Schools may lock up for the night, but class is in session for an entirely different set of students. In the Nightschool, vampires, werewolves, and weirns (a particular breed of witches) learn the fundamentals of everything from calculus to spell casting. Alex is a young weirn whose education has always been handled through homeschooling, but circumstances seem to be drawing her closer to the Nightschool. Will Alex manage to weather the dark forces gathering?

Svetlana Chmakova is an OEL (Original English Language) manga creator that I have been aware of and reading since she started publishing her comics online through Wirepop and Girlamatic. I loved both Chasing Rainbows, a story about a girl whose future is foretold, and Nightsilver, a story about a young witch. Unfortunately both stories have been on hiatus for years now since Svet had to turn her attention to publishing her first professional manga series, Dramacon.

Once Dramacon ended a new series, Nightschool, began. I was highly interested in Nightschool not only because I've loved all of Svet's work thus far, but also because the series wouldn't have an end in sight. Dramacon was only signed on for three volumes, and Nightschool, so far, seems to be a much longer running series. I've bought and read all three volumes out now and have loved each volume. I think Nightschool is a very promising series.

Alex, the main character, is a home-schooled, but gifted, young witch who lives with her older sister, Sarah. Something awful happened in Alex's past which only re-enforces her self imposed isolation, but isn't and hasn't been revealed. Whatever it was it's left a mark on Alex. Sarah is always teasing and pushing Alex to move outside her comfort zone. When Sarah goes missing Alex willingly and quickly investigates the night school Sarah worked at as the Night Keeper to find out why. A parallel story involves a group called the Hunters who protect humans and enforce a treaty between Night Things and the Hunters keeping humans blissfully unaware of vampires, weres, and weirns.

The story is slow going which is one reason why I've held off on writing a review on Nightschool for three volumes. I wanted to see where the story would be taken, and it's taken about three volumes to establish what kind of magna this series would be. While Nightschool's storyline was slow going it wasn't boring at all. On the contrary I've loved turning every page and reading every part of Nightschool, especially the authors notes at the end of each book!

The story is slow going because there are several storylines; Alex looking for Sarah, Alex's amazing and mysterious powers that surpass her age, and the Hunters who are investigating her powers although neither she nor they realize it yet. Without going into too much spoiler-y detail all the storylines keep you guessing as to what will happen next. Each volume adds more and more layers to the characters and world making Nightschool one fun and intriguing read. All of the characters have their funny moments, their serious moments, and their WTH? moments. Svet has found ways to not only keep you guessing, but love the characters and become invested in them. It's an amazing ability that makes Svet a very talented and complex story teller.

The artwork, again, is gorgeous. Having read Svet's works for years now I have seen the molding of her artistic style. I am amazed at the uniqueness of Svet's character designs and background settings. My favorite character design so far? The librarian, of course! Vol. 3 was just released in April, and was the best volume yet in all of these respects. I can't wait to see what happens next. Keep it up Svet!

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

2010-04-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga
Paperback Edition
(Author Website) (Author Book Page)

Five years ago Josh’s life changed. Drastically. And everyone in his school, his town—seems like the world—thinks they understand.

But they don’t—they can’t.

And now, about to graduate from high school, Josh is still trying to sort through the pieces. First there’s Rachel, the girl he thought he’d lost years ago. She’s back, and she’s determined to be part of his life, whether he wants her there or not.

Then there are college decisions to make, and the toughest baseball game of his life coming up, and a coach who won't stop pushing Josh all the way to the brink.

And then there’s Eve. Her return brings with it all the memories of Josh’s past. It’s time for Josh to face the truth about what happened.

If only he knew what the truth was . . .

I just have to say bravo to Bookish Blather for recommended this book to me after my review of Prey by Lurlene McDaniel went up. The areas in which I was disappointed in McDaniel's story were answered with Lyga's take on inappropriate student-teacher relationships. The best part of this story was how it was told, and who told it. In Boy Toy Josh is the sole narrator. This works to the novels strength allowing you know, understand, and be in Josh's head.

Before I go on I'd like to point why I read this book, and why I was so intrigued by the story line. Yes, it is a ripped-from-the-headlines tale, but it also a form of abuse many people don't see as abuse. When an adult male sleeps with his adolescent female student everyone is ready to call it abuse. When an adult female sleeps with her adolescent male student most people write it off with the idea that he's "a boy" and this somehow negates the abuse. This kind of thinking is flawed. Abuse is abuse no matter who it happens to. This is why I wanted to read this book. I wanted to see how this form of abuse was handled in fictional form. I wanted to know where a male author would take the subject matter.

That being said not only does Josh take on a similar mind set towards his abuse, but so do others in school and around him. Josh doesn't understand why everyone treats him differently. In many parts of the book Josh thinks "I got laid on regular basis, and that wins me sympathy?" It's clear that even with therapy and years between him and Eve Josh still doesn't understand what was so wrong with his relationship with her.

Then there is Rachel and her insisting on being a part of his life. It was very interesting to see how Josh's words always seemed to conflict with his emotional and physical responses to a relationship with a girl his own age. How their relationship evolves throughout the book shows so much about the consequences of a sexual relationship between a 12 year old student and his 25 year old female teacher.

In all I was very impressed by this book and how Lyga handled the very real situation of a female sexual predator and the stereotypical ideas behind it. He explored how that kind of relationship effected not only the victim, but his friends and family as well as the abusers own family. It is not a simple situation. It is complex and harmful, and this book handled the subject matter respectfully.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

2010-04-08T05:35:00.000-07:00

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

(Author) (wg.com)

Eighteen-year-old Lia is dealing with the death of her best friend Cassie. She's living with her father, stepmother and stepsister while trying to finish her last year of high school. Things wouldn't be so bad if she could just loose ten pounds. Then maybe ten more. No matter how skinny Lia gets it won't change how she sees herself in the mirror. Lia has anorexia, and sadly her best friend Cassie dealt with bulimia. Both are eating disorders that cause the girls to become dangerously thin among other physically and mentally harmful consequences. Lia can't help the way she feels about her body, and she feels that no one can understand her. When Cassie dies Lia has to take a good long look at her life, her family, and her body issues before they end up killing her.

I have to say I'm always impressed with the way Anderson creates such vivid voices for her characters. Lia is not a cookie cutter teen girl who happens to have issues about her weight. Lia is dealing with real psychological problems which manifest in the form of her weight. She doesn't understand why no one else can see what she sees, whether its her weight or Cassie's ghost, and she knows that if anyone did know they'd send her to "the nut house". So everything Lia feels and thinks stays with Lia. This causes frustration and anger with her family, especially her Neurosurgeon mother, who just wants Lia to eat.

I'm late again, and dreaming halfway out the door (99.00! 99.00! 99.00! Tomorrow will be 98.00!) when the red blinking light catches me. The answering machine. Not my problem. Jennifer will get it when she comes home.

But what if it is Jennifer, asking me to pick up Emma after school again? Or my dad, needing some important papers he forgot. Or Cassie---

Well, no. Not Cassie. (pg. 53)

The real strength of this novel is in the way Anderson depicts the repercussions that occur when someone is anorexic. Anorexia doesn't just hurt the person with it. Anorexia hurts everyone that loves that person. It causes tension in Lia's fathers second marriage, it causes her younger sister to deal with what Lia is experiencing and doing to herself, and it pushes her mother to sheer anger at the fact that her daughter is slowly starving herself to death. What anorexia and bulimia do, physically, to the body is also addressed and all of these elements give a real-life understanding to it.

I applaud Anderson for writing a book and dedicating it to all the readers that have contacted her over the years who deal with problems concerning their body weight and/or cutting. I would highly recommend this book to YA readers. I'm sure it will touch more men and women of all ages then I could possibly know.

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

2010-03-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

(Author Page) (Google Books)

Paperback Edition

A teacher is supposed to impart a love of learning and a thirst for knowledge. It’s a bit different with Ms. Lori Settles. All the kids are talking about how hot she is–and she is especially interested in Ryan Piccoli. When she starts giving Ryan extra attention, he’s feeling more than happy–at first. He’s used to being the class clown, but really he’s a loner. One day after school, the friendship with Lori Settles goes farther than he ever expected. She’s his teacher. She’s at least twice his age. Intimacy with a teacher is wrong, yet it feels so good in every way. Soon, Lori is making demands and Ryan begins to feel overwhelmed, but Ryan refuses to even admit anything is going on. Something immoral is going on and before too long the choices made will change lives forever.

Prey was a definite must read for me. When it finally hit paperback I scooped it up and read it pretty quickly. Considering that the book is less then 200 pages long this wasn't exactly speed reading. The main story is very intriguing to me, because I remember when Mary Kay Letourneau was arrested for sleeping with her 13 year old student. She ended up marrying him when he was of legal age, and had already birthed two of his children almost seven years before.

Lori and Ryan's relationship in this fictional account is built on a similar encounter. The reader learns from the alternating points of view between Ryan, his friend Honey, and Lori that Lori had always decided that Ryan would be "the One". Eventually Lori asks Ryan to her house to move furniture, and eventually seduces him and starts a sexual relationship.

Lurlene McDaniel makes the purpose of the book very clear from the beginning. This book is to show what kind of effects a sexual relationship between a teacher and student can have on both parties. Why a teacher would cross that line with a student? And, how most people outside of the relationship will view it. In this way McDaniel accomplishes her task, but I still felt that story was missing something.

Because the book is so short and only encompasses the immediate events leading up the affair, the affair, and the immediate aftermath both Lori and Ryan are left with lacking backgrounds and histories. Most of the story is recounted through Ryan and Honey, and very little about Lori is reveled. I would have liked to have known more about Lori. Where she came from and why she hated her parents so much. I would have liked to know more about Ryan's own history, and even more about his transition between 16 to 18 at the end of the story.

I still enjoyed the book, but I believe that it was a good idea that could have gone further.

Other reviews:
The Compulsive Reader
The Well-Read Child
Teenreads

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

2010-03-12T08:46:00.000-08:00

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

(Author Page) (Author Blog)

Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known, and all she needs for happiness.

But life after the Return is never safe, and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.

Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.

One night beyond the Barrier...

One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery...
One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.

Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.

The Dead-Tossed Waves is apart of a trilogy, and is not a sequel but a companion book to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. If you remember I loved FHT so much that I gave it a glowing review last year. I was so excited to read this book that it's been talked about almost to death on my blog. (Yeah, sorry about that.) Unfortunately I can't really give Dead-Tossed as glowing a review. Not because I didn't like the story, but because I just didn't love it. Don't get me wrong, ever since I purchased the book I haven't been able to put it down. I brought it with me to work to read during lunch. When I came home I ate quickly so I could read it, and would spend my whole evening reading it. This book is just as gripping, just as engrossing as the FHT. I do not think anyone will be disappointed with the book.

The nit-picky things about this novel was that it felt like not much had changed from the FHT. Let me elaborate. The main character, Gabry, is the daughter of Mary. The same Mary as FHT, and thus this story is years after FHT. Unlike Mary, Gabry is not a brave character. She is constantly afraid of breaking the rules, and if she could she would have lived her entire life in the sea-side town of Vista and never looked for more. She, almost unwillingly, goes to the amusement park because of a boy. Gabry's world is constantly in flux. Consequences are constantly resulted by the one decision she, and the other teenagers, made in going beyond the Barrier. I loved this element of the story. Very NOT like Twilight where everything is wonderful for Bella and she gets everything she wants.

However, it seemed like every time some little bit of good occurred in Gabry's life a huge amount of bad would happen in return. Gabry experiences her first kiss. Immediately afterward a Breaker attacks the entire group. Infecting and killing several teenagers. I can't really say anymore without spoiling the story, but for every good thing a huge amount of bad occurred. No wonder the poor girl was so damn scared. If every time something good happened to me someone died I'd want to curl into a ball on the floor. ( For the record no, I'm not saying every time something good happens someone dies I'm just saying things to that effect happened all through out the book. I'm just using the introduction and summary as an example.)

Also even though I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this book is over 400 pages long it felt like some stuff could have progressed faster or been left out. Although I was almost always intrigued and wanting to read more. There are events in the book that could of taken less time and words to occur. Not often, but enough for me to look at the pages left and think "when is this book going to end?" Also the love triangle and Gabry's affections, which were wishy-washy at best, and constantly annoyed me. I wanted to scream at her to pick a guy and stick with him. I could excuse Mary's love-triangle wishy-washy antics in FHT a little bit, but after a while it got old. With Gabry her wishy-washy antics really got to me. Especially when she was pledging her love and devotion to one boy and then a chapter or two later doing so again with another boy.

Now these are really nit-picky things about the book. Over all the story was really well thought out and written. You could really see the work Ryan put into surprising her readers and keeping them guessing. Events happened in the book which seemed inconsequential at first but eventually came to mean a lot more down the line. Again I won't say what, but Ryan surprised me more then once. Even with one particular character who was quite minor but whose presence is a big catalyst in events that occurred later on.

Questions left at the end of book one were answered in DTW, and even the mythology was well explained and expanded throughout this book. Which is great, because a lot of people were complaining that not enough of the history was explained or mapped out in FHT. In DTW you are given two histories. One that Gabry was told since she was a child, and a second history that she learns later on. It's really up to the reader and the character to wonder which history is the right history, and what has been altered throughout time and personal perspective.

Finally, the thing that Ryan has also excelled at in this book as well as with FHT was the human element. All of the characters may have acted selfishly or unselfishly at times, but I could really understand the reasons why they did. Plus, the mother-daughter interactions between Gabry and Mary are amazingly real and sweet. This part of the story I truly loved, because you really could feel the love that Gabry and Mary have for each other in this book.

Overall if you liked the first book you'll enjoy the second. I can't wait to see how the trilogy ends.

Edit:
The Boy would like to add that the author used the word "possibility" a bit gratuitously. Which I hadn't really noticed until he started to read the book and pointed it out. It was funny though!

Retro Friday: The Last Unicorn

2010-02-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc

This weeks entry: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (1968)

Hidden away in her own sanctuary, Beagle's unicorn has little cares for the world due to her magic and immortality. However, when she hears that she might be the only unicorn left in the world, she sets out on a journey to see if there is any of her kind left. After being captured by a freak show she meets up with a bumbling magician, Schmendrick, and later, a middle aged maiden, Molly Grue. Together these three head on a quest that will take them into the dangerous realm of King Haggard. It will be here that the last unicorn will have to face her nemesis, the Red Bull, in order to free the rest of her kind.

(Summary from SFFWorld.com)

Okay, not one person who lived through the 80's hasn't at least heard of the cartoon movie The Last Unicorn which starred Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges and Angela Lansbury. (You can watch the intro here.) The story itself is an amazing tale about the loss of magic in the human world that both embraces and shuns it. The unicorn, believing that she may very well be the last of her kind, sets out on a journey to find out what has happened to her fellow unicorns. She has no idea what she will come across but she is determined to find out.

The Last Unicorn is a classic tale of circumstances. The Unicorn becomes an unintended champion of her species. Because of her travels she is forever changed from who she was before they started. She meets humans she would never have known of and creates lasting bonds with them. The King is a villain because of selfishness rather then maliciousness towards the Unicorn herself. The King set out to collect something he found beautiful, but in his greed he became the unintended villain to the unintended hero. He no more sought out the Unicorn then she did him.

Now in it's 40th anniversary edition (2008) The Last Unicorn (Conlan Press) is considered a classic among Fantasy books. I'm currently reading this book.

Airhead by Meg Cabot

2010-02-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

Airhead (Series) by Meg Cabot
(Goodreads) (Author Page)

Emerson Watts, 16 and female, loves playing video games, and hanging out with her best friend, Christopher, who she is also secretly in love with. Of course. During a Stark superstore opening Em is involved in a serious accident which leads her to wake up as Nikki Howard, teen supermodel. Em finds that she has to get used to being so physically desirable while at the same time hold onto her feminist ideals.

Which isn't easy. Not when you're used to being judged for your brain rather then your looks.

When Em decides to go back to school and finish her high school degree she has to balance the stresses of fulfilling Nikki Howard's contractual obligations along with homework. She also quickly realizes that she is being watched. She's not sure why, but she's willing to put a stop to it. And she's pretty sure the spy-er is the head of Stark enterprises.

Now, I'm a huge Meg Cabot fan. I think I can say that I easily enjoy about 80 % of Meg Cabot's books, both YA and Adult. Sometimes I don't like her books for whatever reason. I just don't instantly love them. Take Airhead for example. While I thought there was an really good premise of a girl whose brain is transplanted into a super model's body I felt that this book moved along rather slowly. I mean, how extremely interesting to see what it's like to be a celebrity, and even more interesting that Nikki is being spied on for some reason by, probably, Stark enterprises. Most of this first book, however, was focused on Em easing into Nikki's life with no real focusing on the most interesting part of the book. WHY is Nikki Howard being spied on? WHY isn't Em more interested in figuring out that mystery then the mystery of why her best friend, and secret love, Christopher has changed so much after her "death"?

I suppose you'd need to read book 2 (book three coming out in May 2010), but I don't think I'll be finding out any time soon. Since I'll be waiting for the paperback release of book 2, Being Nikki, in order to continue the series. Although it does sound like, from the summary, things are heating up greatly for Em Watts, now Nikki Howard. Sounds like you will find out just why Stark is spying on her, and just why Nikki's family is so absent in her life. I believe that this book is still well received by fans of Meg Cabot's books. So don't take my review as a reason not to read it. Even though I didn't love book one it certainly hasn't made me not want to read the second book.

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

2010-02-02T07:23:00.001-08:00

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
Young Adult, Memoir

Summary (from author website)

A riveting memoir of a girl’s painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s.

A Chinese proverb says, “Falling leaves return to their roots.” In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline’s affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for — the love and understanding of her family.

Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice.

All I can really say about this book is that it really opened my eyes. Not just to life in China during the 1940's and 50's, but how deeply the culture and traditions of China played such a huge part in ostracizing a little girl and her brothers and sisters from her step-family. Chinese Cinderella was one of the most moving memoirs I've ever read. I cried reading this book for the life that this little girl, obviously now a grown women, lead simply because of the circumstances of her birth.

I also snapped up her adult memoir Falling Leaves which continues her story not completely told in her YA book. The way her adult life continues and how she continues even as an adult to try and be accepted by her family is heartbreaking and true to life. I could completely relate to Adeline's desires to be loved by her step-mother. I highly recommend this to readers who love stories where someone has everything against them still raise above her circumstances.

Read an interview with Adeline Yen Mah on Writer's Write.

Or read a book review of Falling Leaves on Book Whisperer.

Multicultural Tuesday: The Legend of the Bluebonnet

2010-01-26T07:50:00.000-08:00

The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie dePaola.

(Author Website) (Amazon Page)

Picture book, Age range 4-6 years.

During the time of a great drought, coupled by famine and thirst, She-Who-Is-Alone chooses to give up her most prized possession for the betterment of her tribe; her doll. As a gift for her selflessness the gods sent rain and beautiful flowers that now cover Texas known as bluebonnets.

Tomie DePaola has illustrated and written many children's books that deal with many different types of cultures and folklore such as his award winning Strega Nona, the story of an Italian grandma witch, and The Night of Las Posadas, which takes place during an annual celebration of Las Posadas in Santa Fe.

Tomie DePaola has illustrated and/or written over 200 children's books. His work has been awarded the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure. (cite: author biography) You can watch an interview with Tomie DePaola on the Reading Rockets website where he talks about himself, his art, and encouraging young readers and artists.

This picture book re-tales a Comanche legend, and was read to me when I was in elementary. It was one of my favorites, and one that made me excited to learn more about Native American folklore. How fascinating that people would tell stories about a flower! How wonderful that there were so many legends I hadn't heard about! I truly believe that this book can open the door to learning about folklore and legends in students. There are so many out there.

Multicultural Tuesday: Introduction

2010-01-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

Agent Kristin, of the blog Pub Rants, has posted a blog about the controversy over whitewashing book covers. I originally spoke about the subject in this blog. Though very little.

I live in an area of the United States that has a unique kind of necessity. Multicultural books are a high demand, and a huge part of learning should you try to become a teacher or learn about children's literature. This is because the area that I live in is dominated by Hispanic culture. When I took classes in children's and young adult literature the professors discussed a lot of books that had to do with multicultural literature from several different kinds of cultures. Not just one culture, but many and ranging from contemporary fiction to fairy tales.

When I took classes for my Masters program in Library Science I took at least two classes on children's and YA lit and both of them dealt with multicultural literature, because I knew the demand for this kind of literature in my area. Teachers in this area are always looking for more books that have to do with Hispanic culture and books that are written by authors from different countries like Mexico, Argentina and Spain. The area that I live in demands that the literature available relates greatly to the students, because that is their culture.

The only problem with that kind of demand, though, is that books on the one particular culture can dominate over other cultures. Teachers are trying so hard to accommodate their students that including other cultures tends to fall by the way side. It is only natural after all to look for books that appeal rather then spending money and time on books that would not appeal. I believe, however, if you really want to showcase good multicultural literature you should be willing to look at all cultures. So I decided to start featuring good literature and authors that deal with all cultures on a new feature in this blog, and I'm calling it Multicultural Tuesday.

So that way every week at least one author and one book is showcased. Hopefully new readers will find these books, love them, and want to show them to their students or children. If we really want to get books out there we need to be willing to talk about them. And isn't that what book blogging is all about?

Retro Friday: The Angels Trilogy

2010-01-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

Angie, over at Angieville, does something really fun called Retro-Friday. I think it's a really great idea and a really neat way to relive some books that aren't just published but deserve a little recognition. I asked, and Angie said it was fine if I took her idea. So here goes the first Retro Friday! Button courtesy of Angie.

The Angels Triology by Lurlene McDaniel

(Amazon) (Author Website)

Compiles indivisual titles:
Angels Watching Over Me
Lifted Up By Angels
Until Angels Close My Eyes

Leah is not happy about being stuck in the hospital for the holidays while her mother is thousands of miles away on a honeymoon with husband number five. Until she meets her hospital roommate, Rebekah, and her big family. Cynical 16-year-old Leah has never known people like this before. From Rebekah’s handsome brother, Ethan, who can barely look Leah in the eye, to her kind older sister, Charity, the Amish family captivates Leah with its simple, loving ways. When Leah receives frightening information about her condition, her new friends show her that miracles can happen. And that sometimes angels appear in the most unexpected places.

This trilogy was one that I loved way back in high school when they were originally released sometime in the 90's. One day a few years ago I found the compilation and had to buy it, and re-read it. I loved the love story between Leah and Ethan. Somehow McDaniel found a way to write two characters so in love, and yet so far apart from each other that I am still invested in them to this day. The way that Leah would describe Ethan as smelling like cinnamon, and how she grew to love both his sisters Charity and Rebekah. The whole family dynamic between all of them really made you want Leah and Ethan to have a happily ever after.

McDaniel's books really struck a chord with me when I was a teenager. (Man, that makes me old. Snicker.) I guess I always loved to read the sometimes sadder love stories along with all those horror novels. You know to balance the scales a bit between the two. Once I really think about it Lurlene McDaniel is like the Nicolas Sparks of the teen girl crowds. Strange, sometimes tragic love stories that make you want to cry. When I was reading the Angels Trilogy it was as each book came out so each year I had something to look forward to, and out of all McDaniel's books that I read (And I read a LOT.) this book is the one that sticks with me the most.

I'm not gonna say whether Leah and Ethan did get their happily ever after either. You'll have to read the novels to learn that. But if you want to dip your toe into this book then check out a limited preview on Google books. Which is what I do for a lot of books. Especially when I have a hard time finding a book in a library or book store.

Graceling

2010-01-19T14:45:00.001-08:00

Originally post in the review entry by Angela Craft of Bookish Blather:

As someone who isn't all that interested in having children myself, I can't really see Katsa's choice to not have children as selfish. Rather, I think her choice is the responsible one - she knows she wants to be free to run around and do what she wants, which includes putting herself in danger in order to help other people, and if she had a child it would be impossible to fulfill her goals.
I met Kristin Cashore at a book signing in November and actually asked her why she had written two characters that were so adamantly against children (especially since we rarely see characters that have an opinion on that in YA). She brought up an excellent point: although both characters have the same desire (no kids) they manifest in entirely different ways: Katsa actually draws strength from her choice, while for Fire it's a great tragedy, and while the choice doesn't play out in the narrative as important, those are important character-shaping moments.

As someone who wants to have kids I failed to take into account those who would rather not. Even if that reason had more to do with personal preference. I was unfair to Kristin Cashore and her character, Katsa, and I believed that this quote from someone more knowledgeable about that subject made an excellent point about Katsa and Fire.

There are people out there who simply don't want marriage or children for no other reason then they just don't want children. I'm glad that someone pointed this out, and called me on it. I'm even more glad that this person wrote about what Kristin Cashore had to say about her books and her characters.

So thank you Angela for pointing this out. It was really nice to hear from you, and I'll be reading your blog in the future.

Prada and Prejudice

2010-01-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

Prada and Prejudice By Mandy Hubbard

(Amazon) (Author Page)

Callie finds herself on a class trip to London alone and feeling ostracized by her fellow classmates. One night Callie overhears classmates of hers, the popular girls, plan to sneak into a nightclub. Callie decides that she must be one of those girls, and decides that she needs real Prada heels to do so. After spending more then a small fortune on Prada heels and clothes Callie leaves the Prada store feeling empowered. Until she falls head over heels and cracks her head on the pavement.

Callie wakes up in 1815 London, lost, bewildered, and out of her element. She happens across a duke's house, becomes mistaken for a girl named Rebecca, and finds herself a fake guest in their house. Now Callie must not only try to find her way back, but not out herself as a girl from the 21st century.

This book is not a book that should be taken seriously. If I sat here and wrote all the time travel problems this book has I'd kill the book. If I thought about it too much I'd have nit-picked the book to death. This is both good and bad, and for me I enjoyed the book enough to let my nit-picks go. I believe that everyone will like or hate the book because of this though. So I will understand if people will pick out problems with this book and dislike it.

This book is more a long the lines of a fluffy teen read. If you liked books like The Princess Diaries or just in general a romance teen read you will like this book. When Callie starts off hating Alex, the Duke, you know what that hatred really means. While so much of this book predictable, and questionable it is still a good book. It is still a lot of fun to read, and that is why I was willing to over look some things.

I found that Callie was very relate-able. She was a real, normal teenaged girl who cares about what she looks like, and what other people think of her. She cares about other people and she finds her own voice when it comes to defending what she thinks is right. I found Mandy Hubbard's writing fun and light, and I can definitely see this book become a favorite for teenaged girls. I can't compare it to Pride and Prejudice, however, since I've never read it. Still you don't have to be a Jane Austin fan to enjoy this book.

If you like romance, and you like historical settings then this book is for you.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

2010-01-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Amazon Page-Author Page

Katsa was born with a special ability and is known as a Graceling. Others in Katsa's world have Graces that are different for each person, and each Grace is defined as a superhuman ability to do a task- swimming, fighting, archery, and mind-reading to name a few. Katsa's Grace is deadly. When she was just a child she killed a man quickly, and without truly meaning to do it. Her uncle, King Randa, decided then to allow Katsa to hone her Grace, and then tasked her with the duty to bully or kill anyone that defied his authority.

Katsa's life continues this way until she meets Prince Po who is searching for his kidnapped grandfather. Katsa befriends Po because she able to fight him, and he is able to stand up to her beatings. Their relationship quickly turns into friendship. Po gives Katsa the ability to look at her Grace, and herself in ways she could never have imagined before.

I can't really summarize this story anymore without giving away too many plot points.

Cashore is a wonderful world-builder. She has a way of creating such vivid and wonderful history and scenery that the reader will be submersed in the novel completely. Katsa, although stubbron and angry, is easily relateable as a character and main voice of this novel. Katsa is used to being defined by her ability as a bully for her uncle King. She may find ways to work outside her uncle's notice, but she still feels defined by what he asks her to do. Her world view is thoroughly challenged by Po who is Graced as well. The progression of the novel shows a great progression of Katsa not only in her life, but how she perceives herself as well.

Although there were a couple predictable story lines in Graceling none of them felt forced. Instead they progressed naturally, and comfortably. Cashore took her time to allow events and changes to happen in a way that mimicked life. In this way Cashore has shown a real ability to allow natural growth occur in her novels without losing her readers. Although I felt that this method of story telling did cause the novel to drag at times over all the effect causes the readers to really know and understand the characters. Graceling is a perfect example of a character driven story that really succeeds.

The only real problems I saw with Graceling, beyond the points where the novel dragged, was the closeness that Katsa and Fire had to each other. (For more about Fire read my review on that book.) Like Fire, Katsa refuses marriage or children although the purposes of this are not fully fleshed out. Fire refuses children or marriage because she wants her monster genes to die off with her. Katsa simply refuses marriage or children because she wants to be completely independent. She doesn't want to have to report herself to anyone but herself. Her motives for choosing a marriage-less and child-less life are completely selfish and not to keep her future children from becoming Gracelings. There are no genetic co-relations between Graced people having only Graced children. Quite the contrary, non-Graced people have Graced children. It isn't quite explained how or why Gracelings are born, but this simply strikes me as odd. One would think that eventually this selfish motivation would change, but it does not.

Like Fire, Katsa is constantly the center of attention because of her differently colored eyes, and is constantly and easily recognized. However I truly wonder how easy it would be to really notice that a person has differently colored eyes. Whenever I see someone with heterochromia it takes me a while to actually catch it. And, if Gracelings are so abundant, why would anyone really take notice of her immediately. Variations in eye color for Katsa, one green eye and one blue eye, aren't as fantastic as Po's, one gold eye and one silver eye. Yes, she is famous as her Uncle King's henchmen, but I had to wonder how people could really distinguish her so easily when all her fame was word of mouth.

Over all though Graceling is a book that deserves it's popularity. Cashore is such a talented writer and story teller I can't wait to see her third book, Bitterblue, which she is currently writing. If it is anything like Fire or Graceling I'm sure readers will be in for a treat.

Edit: Read an amendment to this review posted 01/19/10.

Bestseller Readers Habits

2010-01-08T11:02:00.000-08:00

From Macro.org:

A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read ‘The Lost Symbol’, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it.
— The Economist (via mudd up, peterwknox)

What is very true of published authors is this: Not all published books are good, and not all good books are highly recognized. If the person that backs you up is highly recognizable and has tremendous pull then your books will most likely hit high in ratings. This review pretty much sums up how I felt about the bestseller Wings by Aprilynne Pike. Although I don't have an MFA and I did not go into the book deciding to despise it. I went into reading the book hoping to love it. When authors recommend books, and if these are authors I like, I'll more then likely want to read their recommendations.

First off Wings is not YA. Wings more then hits the Middle Grade much better. The way the story is written, the morals implicated, the whole way that the trolls were handled as cookie cutter villains made me think over and over again "After School Special". Just because Laurel is in high school, and, I'm guessing, once Stephenie Meyer was willing to give a blurb, the publishers knew they could push this book into YA territory. Because of Twilight the publishers knew that this book would appeal to teens. Thankfully I wasn't on the 2008 Cybils panel because I would have pushed for the book to be moved to MG because that is how strongly I feel that this book is being marketed to the wrong group of readers. Still, like I said, Stephenie Meyer gave the book a blurb so in marketing that equals YA.

This book was so heavily publicized that in it's first week in print it hit the bestseller list. The bestseller list doesn't mean that the book is just that great. The bestseller list just means that it sold the most copies. I wonder how this book would have done if it hadn't received the kind of publicity it did. I wonder just how much people would have liked this book if Stephenie Meyer hadn't been the one endorsing it. This is also true for bestsellers, because people like to know what to do. Librarians love knowing what will possibly appeal to their readers, and as much as we'd love to we can't read all the books.

But be aware guys, lists are just a starting point. Avid readers are avid because they want to gobble up books, and the only way to find books that you might like is to do a little research on what is out there in your range of interest. Every fantasy book out there is being compared to Twilight because that is what is selling! Book sellers want to sell books, and marketing a book plays heavily into how appealing a book may be.

I'm not trying to disparage Aprilynne Pike. If my hypothetical debut book sold this well I would be just as thrilled and happy as she is, because everyone wants to make a living off their writing. Everyone. I'm happy that she hit the market running. Let's just hope that she continues to find this kind of appeal in her next three books in this series.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

2010-01-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Author Webpage

Amazon Page

Fire is a prequel to Cashore's debut novel Graceling. You don't need to have read Graceling to understand this novel.

Fire was born beautiful and marvelous. Her fire red hair and exceptional beauty make her not only something to be admired but also a target. She is a monster by nature born to a monster father who almost single-handedly destroyed the kingdom of the Dells, and that kingdom is now being ruled by the previous king's son, Nash.

King Nash is doing his best to keep his kingdom from falling apart, and is trying to repair what his father and Fire's father did to almost destroy it. There is an impending war that could either dethrone King Nash or bring the kingdom together. King Nash seeks out Fire for her ability to read people's minds, and to have her as an ally in his quest to unite his kingdom. Fire must not only work towards understanding herself and her abilities, but also decide on how these abilities will be used or not used.

As said before I'd never read Graceling before reading Fire. With so much fantasy being set in modern times lately it is a breath of fresh air to read a book set in a more traditional fantasy setting. Fire is a fragile women who feels the scars of her father's past are her own to bear. Fire is, at first, someone who only wishes to be normal. She hides from her beauty and from her mind reading abilities. She is ashamed of them because of how her father used to and taught Fire how to use them. To Fire's father their exceptional beauty made humans their play things not their equals. To her father they are the superior beings, and should use their powers to their greatest advantage.

Fire is different. Fire wishes only to be seen as someone beyond her exceptional abilities. When King Nash asks Fire to use these abilities to his advantage Fire must decide for herself if using her abilities in this way is immoral. Cashore is an exceptional writer with an ability to make her readers think about the consequences behind Fire's actions as well as the actions that others ask of her. Fire also encompasses questions of gender, violence, family, friendship and race that all of the characters must face and react to individually giving Fire a highly engrossing cast of characters as diverse and intriguing as the main character.

Cashore delivers an amazingly realistic fantasy world. Her writing is understated and beautiful which can only lend to it's readability for its readers. Fire is at a mature teen reader level as it deals adult situations. The book will definitely rate high on any fantasy lovers list. Fire has also been nominated as a CYBILS finalist for 2009.

Candor

2009-12-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Candor by Pam Bachorz
(Amazon)
(Author Website)

In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town's founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause.
But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant–perfect–through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar' s built a business sabotaging his father's scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they're turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks?

Then he meets Nia, the girl he can't stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever. Keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more. Candor was an amazing book with Alfred Hitchcock like tendencies. While it's not high Science Fiction it is Sci Fi and touches on the theory that subliminal messages can control human actions and emotions. To the point that you could create well-behaved and robotic teenagers. This book is a must read.

Girl In The Arena

2009-12-14T09:45:00.001-08:00

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines.
(Amazon)
(Author Webpage)

Lyn is a neo-gladiator’s daughter, through and through. Her mother has made a career out of marrying into the high-profile world of televised blood sport, and the rules of the Gladiator Sports Association are second nature to their family. Always lend ineffable confidence to the gladiator. Remind him constantly of his victories. And most importantly: Never leave the stadium when your father is dying. The rules help the family survive, but rules—and the GSA—can also turn against you. When a gifted young fighter kills Lyn’s seventh father, he also captures Lyn’s dowry bracelet, which means she must marry him...

The whole time I was reading Girl in the Arena I was intrigued by what kind of arena the author was trying to portray. For one there is the arena that fame, which has been trusted upon Lyn by the decisions of her mother, the family arena, and then there is the physical arena that Lyn's fathers have entered into and died over and over again. I felt that Lyn's story was one of being torn. Torn between her family and duties to her younger brother, Thad, and torn by her duties to the world that she has been raised in. She is expected to do as she is told. When she is told to marry Uber Lynn finds herself torn between duty, family, and herself.

Haine's book had me thinking, a lot. I was intrigued by the fairy tale-like world that the GSA is trying to create for entertainment and monetary purposes. The lengths to which the faceless association will take in order to keep making money of off the gladiators and their family is astounding. The dehumanizing, and violent way in which the GSA uses people constantly surprised me. This plus Uber and Lynn's relationship in contrast to Lynn's relationship with her best friend Mark almost had the potential for a love triangle. Thankfully Haines didn't go with this. While I like a good love triangle there was too much for the story to be weighed down with too much romance. I felt this was a good call by Haines. The purpose of the story, I felt, was to show humanity in a cruel light based on the idea that entertainment can become boundary-less simply because viewers are able to so aptly detach from the reality that there are real people in the arena.

With that said there were things that bothered me about the book. The dashes in place of quotation marks was more then annoying. Apparently other authors have done this little trick with success, but I have yet to personally read these works. I found the style useless to the story, and at the beginning I was very close to giving up on the story because at times it was confusing at times for me to figure out when a character was still talking or had finished talking. Next time I truly suggest that Haines not do this. It distracts from the story and character development.

Next, the story dragged. It was overly long, and Haines could have told a crisper, cleaner story by cutting out about 100 pages of world building and character background. There was a little too much information without enough action to propel the story forward. For a story about gladiator fighting as a main sport there surprisingly little gladiator fighting, and the fights seem too short to really project the violence.

With all that said I still found this book noteworthy. I still found myself thinking over the plot and picking at the world that Haines built in an effort to understand it better. For this I have to say pick up the book. Read it. Hopefully you'll find yourself mulling over it as much as I did.

The Dust of 100 Dogs

2009-11-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King (author website)

Emer Morrisey was about to run away and live a quiet life as a good Irish women when the love of her life was killed, and she along with him. However, this was not before she was cursed to live the life of 100 dogs as punishment for killing another man's lover. Over the next 300 years Emer lives the lives of various dogs with all her memories intact, before finally being born again as the human, Saffron Adams. Saffron is considered a genius by her parents, and she goes through most of her life waiting to turn eighteen. She dreams of leaving to Jamaica and finding the treasure Emer buried there before her untimely death. She also has violent daydreams that include inflicting horrible, violent actions on others.

Saffron wishes to be free. Free from her parents, free from her brother, and most of all free to get what rightfully belongs to her.

The Dust of 100 Dogs is a fairly violent and graphic novel. However, this doesn't not detract from the wholly original and intriguing story of both a female pirate and three hundred year old soul trapped in the body of a modern young girl. The most interesting storyline, for me, was Emer's first life. Emer was a child during the time when Oliver Cromwell invaded Ireland, and killed thousands of people. Essentially Cromwell commited genocide, and Emer is left without her father, mother, and brother. I won't write anymore since I don't want to spoil anything. I simply wish to say that this storyline was amazing, and I truly loved it.

The way that King interweaves all three storylines, yes there is another storyline besides Emer and Saffron's lives, are so well done that I was enthralled by the book. I had to finish it and talk about the story to someone else. I have noticed that quite a few other reviewers and readers become hung up on the rather bad language and some graphic events that occur in the novel. If you are a person who wishes not read a book with bad language and violent scenes this book may not be something you'd wish to read. If these kinds of scenarios are things that may not bother you then read this book. It is an excellent debut, and I for one look forward to reading more by A. S. King. Visit the author's website to watch a trailer for this book, read her blog and learn more about Dust of 100 Dogs.

Many reviewers have also commented on how this book might not necessarily belong in the Young Adult genre because of the very adult situations and bad language brought up. The author also states that when she wrote the book there wasn't a specific genre in mind. So in essence it was not originally written with a young adult audience in mind. However, I am a reader who thinks that just because a book has the label of Young Adult doesn't mean that it should be censored to fit a certain idea of what young adult readers should be reading. Every reader is different, and some YA readers can handle this kind of book.

The Van Alen Legacy

2009-10-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

The Van Alen Legacy: A Blue Bloods Novel

by Melissa De La Cruz

Blue Bloods was a series I came into contact with fairly recently. Around the time the third book, Revelations, came out I was browsing for Christmas presents for my friends. For one I was looking for a vampire book since Twilight was such a huge hit for her. I saw the covers of Blue Bloods and thought, hum, why not? Eventually I became a fan of the book and she, I believe, never really got into the stories. I have all four books now with The Van Alen Legacy being my most recent addition. (Copied from an earlier entry of mine. To continue reading it and learn more about the Blue Bloods series click here.) The rest of this review will spoil earlier volumes so tread carefully.

The Van Alen Legacy picks up directly where the third book, Revelations, left off. Lawrence Van Alen, Schuyler's grandfather, is dead, and the Conclave believes that Schuyler played a part in his death. They do not believe her when she says that Lawrence was killed by Leviathan. So Schuyler and her best friend Oliver do the only thing they can think of; they run. Legacy starts one year after Lawrence's death, and continues to cover, at best, a few months of time and is narrated by the three girls; Schulyer, Bliss and Mimi.

Some good things about this book:

A lot was answered. Schuyler's true feelings towards Oliver and Jack, Mimi's feelings about Jack and Schuyler, what has taken over Bliss, and what the Visitor is planning to do. The fact that it starts off almost a year after the last books gives the characters a chance to get past the utter shock that they may be feeling. I even believe that narrating with three different characters allowed De La Cruz to successfully tell the reader about events happening that still moves the story forward at a quick pace.

The way that De La Cruz (seemingly) gave the love triangle between Oliver, Jack and Schuyler a very realistic (supposed) ending. I say 'seemingly' and 'supposed' because this series is still on-going and has plenty of time for this love triangle ending to change. I know that many people are tired of love triangles, and there is only so far you can go with one before fans become bored of it. Thankfully De La Cruz has (apparently) realized this and ended it. I won't tell you which way either. You have to read it for yourself.

Somethings I didn't like: Quite simply De La Cruz's story is becoming very big. She did very will with the Van Alen Legacy and managed to continue to make the reader enjoy and become sucked into the story. I was disappointed at the explanation of what the Van Alen Legacy was. It was done so quickly and some what forced that I had to re-read the page it was explained on to get it. My first reaction was "what?" and then after re-reading the page "oh that's it?". This is one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy the fourth books as much as I did the first three. So much was tied up and so much was started that this book felt more like a filler then a real addition to a great series.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next two books slated to come out in 2010 and 2011, but I can tell you I'm pretty sure werewolves will make a debut into the Blue Bloods world by the next book. I hope De La Cruz treads carefully. If she tried to over-extend herself too much with Angels, Vampires, and now the entire Rome story by adding in werewolves she might just end up jumping the shark! I really hope she doesn't!

The Blue Bloods Series

2009-10-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

The Van Alen Legacy: A Blue Bloods Novel

by Melissa De La Cruz

To be completely honest, with this series it took a bit for me to really get into it. Blue Bloods starts off with Schuyler Van Alen a loner who attends an elite school in Manhattan. She is a part of an ancient family line that helped found Manhattan, and, in effect, makes her completely wealthy. (Side note: It took me forever to realize that her name is pronounced like Skylar. The odd spelling kept throwing me off.) Although Schuylar is an outcast in her school she has more in common with the popular, beautiful crowd than just her human ancestry: they are all also blue bloods.

Now here is where it gets a bit tricky and confusing. Once the young blue bloods reach the age of fifteen they start to change. They begin to crave raw meat, have nightmares set in different times in history, and prominent blue veins begin to appear. The blue bloods act like vampires and they walk like vampires, and even De La Cruz calls them vampires. Schuyler, and the reader, soon learn that these changes are because she, and all blue bloods alike, are fallen angels living on Earth as part of their punishment for trying to overthrow heaven. But honestly can you be both a vampire and a fallen angel? It's a confusing element of the story.

The mixing of two fantasy-type elements into one hybrid monster made me almost check out of this book. Add into that the whole, to me, unnecessary fashion elements of this series. ( To De La Cruz's credit fashion is her thing. She is very much apart of the fashion world and all the famous designers that exist in it.) However, I was never someone that into fashion, and to be honest I believe fashion in teen reads is becoming overdone. When I sat down to read this book I did not expect the fashion shows, but it is one thing I can at least overlook. It's a part of the story, of the characters, so my personal preferences need to take a back seat here. Besides I'm sure there are plenty of teen girls who love fashion much more than I.

One thing I find very odd though is the love triangle between Jack Force, a very popular and handsome boy, his twin sister Mimi Force, and Schuyler....well it gets pretty hairy. They are all immortal fallen angels. They are all reborn into human bodies, and none of them are really related to one another, but it's still damn creepy when a twin brother and sister are actually ancient lovers. It's almost on the same level of creepy as Twilight's imprinting.

All of that aside I really enjoyed a lot of what Blue Bloods had to offer which was a story about a girl who falls for the popular, handsome boy and learns so much more about herself than she ever thought possible. The most interesting parts of the book are when Schuyler learns about her fallen angel heritage, and how many of the seemingly random elements of her life are all actually intertwined with what she is. The romance and mystery deepens with each new volume, and if I am this far into the series and still grabbing the hardcover De La Cruz is doing something right.

Look for my review in the near future. For now I leave you with the official book trailer for The Van Alen Legacy.

Thirst Book 1 by Christopher Pike

2009-09-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

Reviewers Note:
Since Thirst is an omnibus I'm going to be reviewing each book on it's own. So once I finish one book I will review it and then the next.

Thirst No. 1
The Last Vampire

Alisa is a vampire, and has been for the last five thousand years. She is a killer and a lover. All Alisa wants is to be left alone. To live out her long life away from prying eyes for as long as she can. But someone has decided that they are very interested in Alisa. Someone has hired a private detective to learn about Alisa. Once this very same detective learns about Alisa's amazing wealth he decides to confront Alisa outright.

Once Alisa learns that this detective knows much about her, a little too much actually, she becomes obsessed with learning who it was that sent him after her. An obsession that introduces her to Ray, and suddenly Alisa must choose; Ray's life or her own.

I did not misremember Pike's ability to have very mature situations in his YA books. This book starts with a seemingly quiet scene that quickly escalates into a very dangerous situation for one of the books main characters. Alisa, the narrator and protagonist of this series, is a cold woman. It is the way she thinks, the way she speaks, and in the way she interacts with other characters. She has a strange intuition about everyone she meets, and has a very calm way of digesting each situation she finds herself in. Right off the bat, I loved this character. She is nothing like other vampires I have read, to this point, because she is written with a grace and maturity not all vampire characters are given. And really when you have supposedly lived hundreds to thousands years this kind of characterization should be used more often.

There are a couple of things that bothered me about this book, as much as I loved it. The book, originally published in 1994, was slightly dated. For example, Ray is amazed that Alisa knows as much as she does about computers. Even in 1994 I believe that with the age range of these characters, 17-18, Ray shouldn't be so amazed at Alisa's ability to use a computer. Also Alisa uses a zip drive (several actually) in one scene which is fairly out of date with today's technology. I understand exactly why the author or editors wouldn't have wanted to update this book since it may change the story. However, the age range it is marketed to may wonder about these small details.

Another thing that bothered me was near the ending of the book and involved Alisa devising a plan of escape. I won't go into detail since of course that would spoil some things, but if you have read the book you may remember. If not the clue I will give you is rockets. It seemed like a contrived plan at best. However Pike did very well with the ending and I have to say I was very surprised at how the book ended.

One thing I will really commend Pike on is the use of an original origin story for both this kind of vampire and how Alisa became a vampire herself. It was very clever and intriguing way of showing how a vampire is born.

I'm delving into the second book, Black Blood, now. Already the first chapter is capturing my attention. Well see how it goes. Tell next time!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2009-09-11T05:39:00.001-07:00

Catching Fire is the second book of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Generally I don't like spoiling a book for a reader. So in this case if you haven't read Hunger Games don't read this review. Unless, of course, you want to be spoiled.

Katniss has accomplished an almost impossible feat. She won the Hunger Games, and with such a victory should come a life of wealth. Katniss and her family will never want again. Katniss will never have to worry that her mother or sister will starve. But Katniss is now something she never thought she would become. When President Snow visits Katniss one morning she becomes aware that she has become a symbol for a rebellion that has been brewing in other districts. Now Katniss must decide just how she will play her cards to keep her family from disappearing.

When I first started Catching Fire I had no idea just how Collins was going to move this story forward. I had read reviews and heard rumors, and still I had no idea how the second book would unfold. That same guessing continued even as I began to read the continuation of Katniss's story. Up until the very last page. This truly was a story I could not predict. I can't wait for the third and final novel.

Something that surprised me even more was the relationship between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. I don't really know how anyone could choose a side! Of course there are the Team Gale and Team Peeta's out there, but honestly? Who has time for a romance when the world as you know it is changing at such a rapid pace? Katniss may wonder herself about the possibilities of futures and relationships with both Peeta and Gale, and the situation that she had been put in warrants it. For Katniss, though, she cannot see a future where she must watch her children stand in line every year to be chosen. Or be forced to watch them compete in the Games. For Katniss that is the same scale as being able to watch Prim be selected for the games. And we all know how that went.

I really loved the way that Collins handled the whole romance dynamic. How even if Katniss could love Peeta or Gale in a way that would lead to marriage and children Katniss knows just what she would be asking of her future children. To have a character be that mature was a real breath of fresh air. I could write more, but do yourself a favor and read this book. Check it out at your local library. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefavter

2009-08-31T18:28:00.001-07:00

Several years ago Grace was attacked by the wolves that live in the forest that borders her house. She was nearly killed, but lived because of one wolf in particular. Her wolf. The wolf with the yellow eyes.

Now seventeen Grace finds herself continuously entranced by her wolf with the yellow eyes. Every winter she looks forward to seeing her wolf just outside her home. Her friends know about her self-proclaimed obsession with the wolves, but none of them know the truth about the wolves.

Sam is an eighteen-year-old boy who has always lived a double life. During the summer he's a human and able to live a normal life. During the winter Sam becomes a wolf, and runs with his pack. Every year the amount of cold it takes to turn him into a wolf becomes less and less, and soon he knows that he will be a wolf forever. He thought he could handle that fact, but once he truly meets Grace and becomes apart of her world Sam realizes he doesn't want to let go of Grace.

I had a love/hate relationship with Shiver about half way into the book. Stiefvater started out really strong with her story. The first few chapters alone draw you in and make you want to know more. The fact that the book is narrated by both Sam and Grace makes this book even stronger. It isn't easy to write in two different protagonist voices and not confuse a reader. Stiefvater did so beautifully. She also wrote the story with such gorgeous prose that it was hard not to fall in love with the way it was written. Where the story started to almost loose me was some of turns not taken and some of the turns that were taken.

Grace's parents, for example, are extremely neglectful and out of the picture. Grace is left to fend for herself all the time while her parents gallivant around town pretending they don't have a daughter. When Sam is brought to their attention Grace's parents don't seem to care enough to ask too many questions. Without trying to say too much there is even more that makes me question these parents when Grace basically insults her mother when her mother does ask questions about Sam and her mother just shrugs it off like it's no big deal. All the while the parents are still painted as basically good people who don't care about their daughter. Those two personalities didn't mesh well with me at all.

Then there were the wolves. A lot of the story is centered on Grace and Sam living their lives together in their relationship, but very little is done with one of the more intriguing part of the novel; the wolf pack. They are mentioned and they make appearances but these appearances are far between. It makes the story move along slowly, then pick up, then move slowly again. It was a bit frustrating, but the story and the characters were still so interesting I had to keep reading. Stiefvater definately succeeded in making strong, likeable, and balanced characters which isn't easily done when it comes to a romance. Grace was a strong person on her own as well as with Sam, and Sam leaned just as much on Grace as she did him.

Over all though I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this to readers who love the romance of a story rather then any that look for action to really push a story along. It's a beautiful book and it certainly will garner quite a following. I will definitely be looking for the next installment.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

2009-08-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

Mary's world exists inside a very delicate balance. The only thing that separates her from certain death is one fence. The fence protects Mary and her village. The village has survived because of the balance of power that the Sisterhood and the Guardians hold over Mary and her fellow villagers.

While Mary may be safe in her village from the constant threat of death at the hands of the Unconsecrated Mary dreams of more. She dreams of freedom, of what is beyond the fence, and most importantly of the ocean. Mary knows she has the Sisterhood and the Guardians to thank for her safety, but Mary still dreams. She can't help but think of the ocean and of her mother's stories of the world before the Unconsecrated.

When the fences are breached and the village is overrun with the Unconsecrated Mary is thrust into the world beyond the fence. Now, Mary runs for her life.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an excellent, heart-thumping, mind-blowing read. I cannot talk highly enough about this book. What makes this book ever more impressive is that this book is Carrie Ryan's debut novel! Ryan has weaved a world and this both eloquent and devastating which is an amazing feat for a book about zombies. That's right, zombies.

Don't let the subject matter fool you into making judgments about Hands and Teeth. Ryan has broken into and artfully designed a type of horror book that is written in a hauntingly beautiful way. Mary is such a compelling protagonist that I found myself wanting to hate her for her faults and love her for her strength and her sheer force of will.

One of the best things about this book is that it I believe it will surpass not only the Young Adult to Adult label barrier but also the gender barrier. With a female protagonist most male readers won't initially want to read this book, but Ryan has created a tale so fascinating that even my Boy couldn't put this book down. He read the whole thing and asked for more.

Hands and Teeth can't get enough good press. It has already been optioned for a movie, and the second book of this trilogy, Dead Tossed Waves, out March 2010 has already garnered good reviews! Personally I can't wait.